Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.48 and traded as high as $24.60. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $24.50, with a volume of 65,712 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. B. Riley started coverage on Saratoga Investment in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.50 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Saratoga Investment presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $24.58.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 0.4%

The firm has a market cap of $376.44 million, a P/E ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

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

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 12.31%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 300.0% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 3rd quarter worth $116,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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