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

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 141,300 shares, an increase of 34.2% from the March 15th total of 105,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 122,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SAR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Compass Point cut their target price on Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $285,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the 4th quarter worth about $814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.09% of the company’s stock.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SAR traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $23.46. The company had a trading volume of 50,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,099. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $336.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $26.49.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.79%. This is a boost from Saratoga Investment’s previous monthly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Saratoga Investment’s payout ratio is presently 120.97%.

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.