Lucid Capital Markets downgrades Saratoga Investment stock on portfolio shrinkage

Published 09/07/2025, 20:30
Lucid Capital Markets downgrades Saratoga Investment stock on portfolio shrinkage

Investing.com - Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) Capital Markets downgraded Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from Buy to Neutral on Wednesday, while lowering its price target to $25.00 from $26.00. The $373M market cap business development company maintains a GREAT financial health score according to InvestingPro data, with a P/E ratio of 12.

The downgrade follows Saratoga’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, which revealed a 12% reduction in the size of the investment portfolio at fair value over the past twelve months as repayments outpaced originations. Despite the portfolio reduction, InvestingPro data shows the company maintains strong liquidity with a current ratio of 2.57, indicating healthy ability to meet short-term obligations.

Lucid Capital Markets noted that while repayments are generally positive for lenders, the situation will likely create a short-term reduction in earnings power as the company works to redeploy capital, with the originations pipeline characterized as healthy but not robust.

The firm’s $25.00 price target represents 100% of its fiscal year 2026 year-end NAV estimate of $25.08, translating to a 12.0% dividend yield based on expected FY26 regular dividends of $3.00, compared to the current 12.2% yield. Notably, InvestingPro analysis reveals the company has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years, demonstrating consistent shareholder returns. Get access to 8 more exclusive InvestingPro Tips and comprehensive analysis in the Pro Research Report.

With Saratoga currently trading at 96% of NAV, above the peer median of 90%, Lucid Capital Markets believes the shares are unlikely to experience material multiple expansion in the near term.

In other recent news, Saratoga Investment Corp reported its Q4 2025 financial results, which showed a notable shortfall in both earnings per share (EPS) and revenue against analyst expectations. The company posted an EPS of $0.56, missing the projected $0.7029, and revenue of $31.3 million, which was lower than the anticipated $33.29 million. These results represent a 20.4% miss on EPS and a 6% miss on revenue. Despite these setbacks, Saratoga Investment Corp managed to increase its Net Asset Value by 6.1% year-over-year. The company has transitioned to a monthly dividend structure, enhancing its base quarterly dividend. Analyst discussions highlighted ongoing economic uncertainties and lower middle market deal volumes as factors impacting the company’s performance. Saratoga remains focused on disciplined asset selection and expanding business development efforts, with a cautious outlook on economic conditions. The firm also addressed its strategy for equity raising and cash deployment, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong balance sheet.

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