Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

NYSE SAR opened at $17.44 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.30. Saratoga Investment has a 12-month low of $17.34 and a 12-month high of $25.15. The company has a market capitalization of $280.37 million, a P/E ratio of 17.44 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.07). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 12.70%.The business had revenue of $30.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 million. Analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 66.2% during the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 2,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed investment company that seeks to generate current income and total return through a diversified portfolio of private U.S. companies. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAR, the firm primarily targets middle-market businesses across a broad range of industries, including industrials, healthcare, consumer products, financial services and technology. Its investment approach combines debt and equity instruments, providing flexible capital solutions such as first-lien and second-lien secured loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity positions.

As an actively managed vehicle, Saratoga Investment works closely with portfolio companies’ management teams to support growth initiatives, operational improvements, and strategic transactions.