Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Up 89.4% in March

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 89,000 shares, an increase of 89.4% from the March 15th total of 47,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 99,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAR opened at $23.25 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.24. Saratoga Investment has a 12-month low of $22.35 and a 12-month high of $28.87. The firm has a market cap of $317.43 million, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.05). Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 16.45%. The business had revenue of $36.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 4.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Saratoga Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 146,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 8,347 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 110,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 28,027 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 100,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 44,722 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 97,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 10,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 86,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SAR. StockNews.com raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Compass Point lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $24.75 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, B. Riley lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.75.

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.