Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.51 and traded as high as $25.58. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $25.12, with a volume of 131,583 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SAR shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. B. Riley started coverage on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $23.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Compass Point lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $25.25 to $24.25 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.25.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 0.1%

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.52. The firm has a market cap of $392.22 million, a P/E ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.67. 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 (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.03). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 24.85%. The business had revenue of $35,219.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.75 million. As a group, analysts expect that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio is 121.46%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAR. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 33.4% during 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 during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 128,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,071,000 after buying an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Saratoga Investment by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 125,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 6.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 114,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 7,110 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 109,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,626,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.