Saratoga Investment Corp (SAR) to Issue Monthly Dividend of $0.25 on August 25th

Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) announced a monthly dividend on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th.

Saratoga Investment has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years. Saratoga Investment has a payout ratio of 90.4% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Research analysts expect Saratoga Investment to earn $2.00 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 150.0%.

Saratoga Investment Price Performance

Shares of SAR opened at $19.10 on Monday. Saratoga Investment has a 52-week low of $17.34 and a 52-week high of $25.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.19. The firm has a market cap of $311.50 million, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.55.

Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of ($12.15) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.38 million. Saratoga Investment had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Saratoga Investment will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saratoga Investment

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Saratoga Investment by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment in the second quarter valued at $355,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saratoga Investment by 24.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 6,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Saratoga Investment during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Saratoga Investment by 4.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 158,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,861,000 after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares in the last quarter. 19.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Saratoga Investment Company Profile

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a closed-end, externally managed investment company that seeks to generate current income and total return through a diversified portfolio of private U.S. companies. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SAR, the firm primarily targets middle-market businesses across a broad range of industries, including industrials, healthcare, consumer products, financial services and technology. Its investment approach combines debt and equity instruments, providing flexible capital solutions such as first-lien and second-lien secured loans, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity positions.

As an actively managed vehicle, Saratoga Investment works closely with portfolio companies’ management teams to support growth initiatives, operational improvements, and strategic transactions.