Saratoga Investment Corp. Increases Quarterly Dividend From $0.72 To $0.73 Per Share

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | February 15, 2024 09:42am

Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE:SAR) ("Saratoga Investment" or "the Company"), a business development company, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share for the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 29, 2024, an increase of $0.01 from $0.72 per share in the prior fiscal third quarter, and the sixteenth quarterly dividend increase in a row. Total dividends for fiscal year 2024 are $2.85 per share, an increase of 16.8% over the prior year. This fourth quarter dividend is payable on March 28, 2024, to all stockholders of record at the close of business on March 13, 2024.

"We continue to benefit from the elevated level of interest rates on our largely floating rate assets combined with the growth of our overall portfolio in well-selected industry segments, resulting in healthy earnings growth this past year," said Christian L. Oberbeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Investment. "Saratoga's fourth quarter dividend of 73c per share reflects an approximately 6% increase year-over-year and a 38% increase over the past two years. Annualizing this dividend rate implies a 12.8% dividend yield based on Saratoga's recent stock price of $22.77 per share on February 13, 2024. Our current substantial overearning of the dividend increases Net Asset Value, supports increased portfolio growth and provides a cushion against adverse events, including potential cuts in interest rates in 2024."

This is the fourth dividend declared in fiscal year 2024. Total dividends for fiscal year 2024 are $2.85 per share, an increase of 16.8% over the prior year's total dividends of $2.44 per share. The Company previously declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share for the quarter ended November 30, 2023, $0.71 per share for the quarter ended August 31, 2023 and $0.70 per share for the quarter ended May 31, 2023. During fiscal 2023 the Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share for the quarter ended February 28, 2023, $0.68 per share for the quarter ended November 30, 2022, $0.54 per share for the quarter ended August 31, 2022 and $0.53 per share for the quarter ended May 31, 2022.

Shareholders will have the option to receive payment of the dividend in cash or receive shares of common stock pursuant to the Company's dividend reinvestment plan ("DRIP"). Saratoga Investment shareholders who hold their shares with a broker must affirmatively instruct their brokers prior to the record date if they prefer to receive this dividend, and future dividends, in common stock.  The number of shares of common stock to be delivered shall be determined by dividing the total dollar amount by 95% of the average of the market prices per share at the close of trading on the ten (10) trading days immediately preceding (and including) the payment date.

Posted In: SAR