Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Update

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SAR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 26th. Compass Point decreased their price objective on Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,071,000 after acquiring an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 94,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 23,089 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $271,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 59,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 2,694 shares in the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

SAR opened at $24.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.91 and a two-hundred 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. The company has a market cap of $347.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.31. Saratoga Investment has a 12-month low of $21.56 and a 12-month high of $26.49.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. 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 12.40%. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 120.97%.

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.