Q3 EPS Estimates for Saratoga Investment Cut by B. Riley

Key Points

• B. Riley has cut its Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Saratoga Investment from $0.67 to $0.57, maintaining a "Neutral" rating with a target price of $23.00.
• Saratoga Investment reported Q3 earnings of $0.58 per share, falling short of consensus estimates of $0.67, alongside a revenue of $30.63 million compared to expectations of $32.39 million.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.25 to be paid on December 18th, with a significant annualized dividend yield of 13.9% despite a payout ratio of 128.21%.

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR - Free Report) - Stock analysts at B. Riley decreased their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Saratoga Investment in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 15th. B. Riley analyst S. Adams now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.57 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.67. B. Riley currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Saratoga Investment's current full-year earnings is $3.93 per share. B. Riley also issued estimates for Saratoga Investment's Q4 2027 earnings at $0.48 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SAR. Zacks Research lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Saratoga Investment to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.63.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of SAR stock opened at $21.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $26.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.10 million, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.38.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $30.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.39 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 10.09%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 186,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 56,125 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 125,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 6.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 94,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 88,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company's stock.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.9%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 128.21%.

About Saratoga Investment

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a business development company specializing in leveraged and management buyouts, acquisition financings, growth financings, recapitalization, debt refinancing, and transitional financing transactions at the lower end of middle market companies. It structures its investments as debt and equity by investing through first and second lien loans, mezzanine debt, co-investments, select high yield bonds, senior secured bonds, unsecured bonds, and preferred and common equity.

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