Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

SAR stock opened at $24.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $357.06 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.33. Saratoga Investment has a 12 month low of $21.56 and a 12 month high of $26.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 22.01%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Saratoga Investment by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the third quarter worth $116,000. Finally, Next Level Private LLC boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 39,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 6,619 shares in the last quarter. 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.