Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 34,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $814,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.24% of Saratoga Investment at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 133.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 64,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 36,544 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $285,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,464,000 after purchasing an additional 6,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 19.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Compass Point decreased their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 3.3 %

SAR stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,877. Saratoga Investment Corp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $26.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. 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 market cap of $336.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.65.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $31.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.86 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

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

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.