Saratoga Investment Corp 8.50% (SAZ): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is SAZ undervalued?

Saratoga Investment Corp 8.50% (SAZ) closed at 25.38 on 16 Oct 2026. The GLS average fair value - the simple average of the 2 valuation models that produced a positive number - is 32.14, so the price sits 21% below it. 1 of the 2 models value the shares above the current price. A margin of safety between 10% and 30% is where most of the Sunday Scan candidates come from.

Only 2 of the nine models produced a value (DCF, DDM); the others need a dividend, positive free cash flow or positive book value the company does not have yet, so the average rests on a narrow base.

The nightly engine files SAZ under Speculative / Distressed - negative earnings or a Piotroski score of 3 or less - which caps its Wheel Score at 45 and keeps it out of the Sunday Scan.

Nine valuation models for SAZ

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Financial health is weak: SAZ passes 4 of the nine Piotroski tests. Our screens drop the stock at the health rule; a low score is often the reason a stock looks cheap on the valuation models. The GLS Moat score is low at 2.4 out of 10, which says the ten-year record of revenue, earnings, margins and returns on capital has been inconsistent - growth and shocks rather than steady compounding.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC 3.3%, ROE 9.2%, ROA 3.2% - with debt at 1.83 times equity and negative free cash flow.

The dividend yield is high at 21.78% (payout ratio -1120%). A yield this size is often the market's way of pricing a risk to the payout, so the health score and cash flow matter more than usual.

Institutional ownership scores 5/10, insider activity 10/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 39: No options

SAZ has no listed options in the nightly snapshot, so there is nothing to sell and the stock cannot be wheeled however good the business; the Wheel Score is capped at 39 and shown as "No options" (39 here). The valuation and quality numbers still apply to owning the shares outright.

Volume runs at 9k shares a day on a market cap of $242M, with a beta of 0.04 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score gives that 6 of 20.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls; it is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. The walkthrough lesson shows how the score fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

The next earnings report is due on 13 Jan 2027, 89 days away - outside the window of a 30-45-day put sold today.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

Similar stocks in Asset Management

The 12 companies below are the closest to Saratoga Investment Corp 8.50% by market cap within the Asset Management industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.

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