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

Key Points

• Saratoga Investment Corp stock recently crossed above its 200-day moving average of $24.58, trading as high as $25.61.
• Compass Point downgraded Saratoga shares from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating, with a new price target of $24.25, while the overall consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a target price of $24.25.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.25, reflecting an annualized yield of 11.7% despite a high dividend payout ratio of 121.46%.

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.58 and traded as high as $25.61. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $25.55, with a volume of 110,881 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley initiated coverage on Saratoga Investment in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $23.50 target price on the stock. Compass Point downgraded Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $25.25 to $24.25 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.25.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $407.49 million, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.67.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS 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 company had revenue of $35.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.75 million. Research analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. Saratoga Investment's payout ratio is currently 121.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Northern Trust Corp bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,153,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. 19.09% of the stock is owned by 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.