Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Saratoga Investment Corp's share price surpassed its 200-day moving average on Friday, reaching a high of $24.58 before closing at $24.37.
• Following a recent downgrade from Compass Point, the stock's price target has been reduced to $24.25, with an average rating of "Hold" from analysts.
• The company has declared a $0.25 monthly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 12.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 121.46%.

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.51 and traded as high as $24.58. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $24.37, with a volume of 87,231 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Compass Point downgraded Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $25.25 to $24.25 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.25.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.51. The stock has a market cap of $388.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.03). Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 24.85% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.75 million. Research analysts expect that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.46%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $398,000. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $271,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,153,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 193,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,893,000 after acquiring an additional 48,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company's stock.

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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