Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Down 15.0% in February

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 109,600 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the February 13th total of 129,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 112,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

SAR stock opened at $24.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $350.67 million, a P/E ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 1.31. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $21.56 and a twelve month high of $26.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Saratoga Investment’s previous monthly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 120.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 26th. Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth $116,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth $212,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth $1,450,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 29,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.