Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) Plans $0.25 Monthly Dividend

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th.

Saratoga Investment has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years. Saratoga Investment has a payout ratio of 90.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Equities research analysts expect Saratoga Investment to earn $2.00 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 150.0%.

Saratoga Investment Trading Down 0.6%

SAR stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 185,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,058. Saratoga Investment has a 1 year low of $17.20 and a 1 year high of $25.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $278.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.07). Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $30.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.38 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SAR shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.50.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed investment company that seeks to generate current income and total return through a diversified portfolio of private U.S. companies. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAR, the firm primarily targets middle-market businesses across a broad range of industries, including industrials, healthcare, consumer products, financial services and technology. Its investment approach combines debt and equity instruments, providing flexible capital solutions such as first-lien and second-lien secured loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity positions.

As an actively managed vehicle, Saratoga Investment works closely with portfolio companies’ management teams to support growth initiatives, operational improvements, and strategic transactions.