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

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 177,400 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the November 15th total of 152,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 89,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 0.6 %

SAR traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.07. 19,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,027. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $21.56 and a 1 year high of $26.49. The firm has a market cap of $332.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.39. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The business had revenue of $43.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.84 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 4th. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is 193.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the second quarter worth $108,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Saratoga Investment by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 32,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 129,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 3,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 12.2% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 9,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.42.

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.