Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.29 and traded as high as $25.75. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $25.24, with a volume of 186,711 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAR has been the topic of several research reports. Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of Saratoga Investment from $26.25 to $25.25 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 2.5 %

The company's fifty day moving average is $24.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.31. The stock has a market cap of $346.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.31. 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 (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.41%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 119.35%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,450,000. Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 133.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 64,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 36,544 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $860,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Saratoga Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 94,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 23,089 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.09% of the company's stock.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

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.