Sunbelt Securities Inc. Grows Position in Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) by 36.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Saratoga Investment were worth $176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SAR. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 300.0% during the first 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth approximately $266,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $25.25 to $24.25 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. B. Riley began 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, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.25.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 0.3%

SAR stock opened at $24.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Saratoga Investment Corp has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $26.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.39. The stock has a market cap of $379.01 million, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.68.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.21). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 18.87%. The company had revenue of $31.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.86 million. Research analysts expect that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.16%. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 147.06%.

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.