Saratoga Investment (SAR) Competitors

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) and Central Securities (NYSE:CET) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, community ranking, risk and institutional ownership.

Is SAR or CET more profitable?

Saratoga Investment has a net margin of 22.01% compared to Central Securities' net margin of 0.00%. Saratoga Investment's return on equity of 15.53% beat Central Securities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saratoga Investment	22.01%	15.53%	4.80%
Central Securities	N/A	N/A	N/A

Which has more volatility & risk, SAR or CET?

Saratoga Investment has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Central Securities has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of SAR or CET?

19.1% of Saratoga Investment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.7% of Central Securities shares are held by institutional investors. 12.0% of Saratoga Investment shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Central Securities shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SAR or CET a better dividend stock?

Saratoga Investment pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.4%. Central Securities pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Saratoga Investment pays out 119.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SAR or CET?

Saratoga Investment received 269 more outperform votes than Central Securities when rated by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Saratoga Investment	Outperform Votes 269 57.85%	Underperform Votes 196 42.15%
Central Securities	N/A	N/A

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, SAR or CET?

Saratoga Investment has higher revenue and earnings than Central Securities.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saratoga Investment	$143.72M	2.59	$8.93M	$2.48	10.46
Central Securities	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Does the media favor SAR or CET?

In the previous week, Saratoga Investment had 10 more articles in the media than Central Securities. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Saratoga Investment and 1 mentions for Central Securities. Saratoga Investment's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat Central Securities' score of 0.00 indicating that Saratoga Investment is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Saratoga Investment	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Central Securities	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SAR or CET?

Saratoga Investment currently has a consensus target price of $25.08, indicating a potential downside of 3.32%. Given Saratoga Investment's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Saratoga Investment is more favorable than Central Securities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saratoga Investment	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Central Securities	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

Saratoga Investment beats Central Securities on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.