Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

Key Points

• Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) was upgraded to a "hold" rating by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH, following several other reports that maintained a similar rating.
• The company's stock price decreased by 2.0%, with shares opening at $21.60 and an average target price of $23.88.
• Saratoga Investment reported earnings of $0.58 per share, which was below consensus estimates, and had revenue of $30.63 million for the quarter.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

SAR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.88.

Saratoga Investment Stock Down 2.0%

Saratoga Investment stock opened at $21.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $347.78 million, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.66. Saratoga Investment has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $26.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $30.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.39 million. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 1st quarter worth about $398,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 300.0% during 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. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 36.4% during 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. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 125,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 3,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 10,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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