Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) CEO Christian Oberbeck Acquires 15,000 Shares of Stock

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) CEO Christian Oberbeck purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.89 per share, with a total value of $223,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,000 shares in the company, valued at $223,350. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Saratoga Investment Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:SAR opened at $15.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.22. The stock has a market cap of $234.29 million, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.57. Saratoga Investment Corp has a 1 year low of $13.78 and a 1 year high of $24.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.03). Saratoga Investment had a negative net margin of 3.35% and a positive return on equity of 8.66%. The business had revenue of $31.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.46 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment Corp will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saratoga Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 19.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Saratoga Investment’s dividend payout ratio is -1,200.00%.

Institutional Trading of Saratoga Investment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Saratoga Investment by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 165,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,612,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Saratoga Investment by 33.3% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 82,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 20,598 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Saratoga Investment by 19.1% during the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 25,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 2,243.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 25,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 23,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Saratoga Investment by 2.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SAR. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Saratoga Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saratoga Investment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial dropped their target price on shares of Saratoga Investment from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.67.

About Saratoga Investment

Saratoga Investment Corporation (NYSE:SAR) is a business development company that provides financing to lower middle-market companies in the United States. The company seeks to support businesses that may have limited access to traditional bank financing, working with private equity sponsors, management teams and other financial partners.

Through its investment portfolio, Saratoga Investment typically provides senior secured and subordinated debt, including first-lien, unitranche and second-lien loans, as well as mezzanine financing and equity investments.