Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 177,400 shares, a growth of 16.5% from the November 15th total of 152,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 89,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Saratoga Investment from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on Saratoga Investment from $24.75 to $26.25 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Saratoga Investment has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.42.

Saratoga Investment Stock Performance

NYSE:SAR traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.08. 46,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,335. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.30 million, a P/E ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Saratoga Investment has a 52 week low of $21.56 and a 52 week high of $26.49.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.39. Saratoga Investment had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 15.88%. The company had revenue of $43.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.84 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Saratoga Investment will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 4th. Saratoga Investment's payout ratio is 193.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 2,268.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 112,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 107,499 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in Saratoga Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,450,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Saratoga Investment by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 138,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,205,000 after acquiring an additional 17,379 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the third quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Next Level Private LLC increased its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 20.3% during the third quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 39,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 6,619 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company's stock.

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.