B. Riley Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR)

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by investment analysts at B. Riley in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.46% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on SAR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Oppenheimer cut Saratoga Investment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Saratoga Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.94.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Shares of Saratoga Investment stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $23.05. The stock had a trading volume of 21,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,966. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.32 and its 200 day moving average is $23.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Saratoga Investment has a twelve month low of $22.35 and a twelve month high of $27.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.79 million, a PE ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 1.31.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $37.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.59 million. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 6.22%. Equities analysts expect that Saratoga Investment will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SAR. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Saratoga Investment by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 7.9% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Saratoga Investment by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Saratoga Investment by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,909,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Saratoga Investment

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.