Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Short Interest Update

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 151,000 shares, a growth of 17.1% from the January 15th total of 129,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 91,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 26th. Compass Point dropped their target price on Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Saratoga Investment has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAR. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $116,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Saratoga Investment in the third quarter valued at $236,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Saratoga Investment Stock Up 0.3 %

SAR stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $25.37. The company had a trading volume of 128,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,520. Saratoga Investment has a fifty-two week low of $21.56 and a fifty-two week high of $26.49. The company has a market capitalization of $364.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.03.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 15.53%. Analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.