Short Interest in Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Drops By 14.6%

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 129,000 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the January 31st total of 151,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 114,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Saratoga Investment by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 128,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter worth $252,000. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 94,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after buying an additional 23,089 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $271,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 59,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,694 shares during the period. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

Saratoga Investment stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.19. The company had a trading volume of 78,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $347.04 million, a PE ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.31. Saratoga Investment has a one year low of $21.56 and a one year high of $26.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.95 and a 200 day moving average of $24.31.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 22.01%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.40%. This is an increase from Saratoga Investment’s previous monthly dividend of $0.25. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 26th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.08.

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.