Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $24.44 and traded as high as $25.33. Saratoga Investment shares last traded at $25.30, with a volume of 81,461 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Compass Point cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Saratoga Investment from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.08.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $24.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $333.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.94.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 22.01%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment Corp. will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Saratoga Investment's previous monthly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.89%. Saratoga Investment's dividend payout ratio is 120.97%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

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

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.