Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 34,032 Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 34,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $814,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.24% of Saratoga Investment at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth about $116,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SAR. Compass Point decreased their target price on Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SAR traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.92. The company had a trading volume of 34,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,793. Saratoga Investment Corp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $26.49. The firm has a market cap of $343.16 million, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $23.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $31.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.86 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 15.53%. Research analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a yield of 12.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. Saratoga Investment's payout ratio is currently 147.06%.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

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.