Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Key Points

• Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.58, which fell short of analysts' expectations by $0.09.
• The company's stock price decreased by 3.2% to $23.39 following the earnings report, with a trading volume significantly above its average.
• Saratoga Investment announced a monthly dividend of $0.25, offering an annualized yield of 12.8%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 121.46%.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.09), Zacks reports. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 24.85%.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of SAR traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 272,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,854. The company has a market cap of $373.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.86 and a 200 day moving average of $24.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $26.49.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 121.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Compass Point downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $25.25 to $24.25 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment during the second quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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