Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Up 16.5% in November

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

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

NYSE SAR traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $24.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 80,006. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.47 and a 200-day 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. The company has a market capitalization of $331.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 1.33. Saratoga Investment has a 52-week low of $21.56 and a 52-week high of $26.49.

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

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAR has been the subject of several analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2,268.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 112,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 107,499 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth about $1,450,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.4% during the second quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2.7% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 129,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,941,000 after buying an additional 3,417 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

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.