Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,000 shares, a decline of 38.3% from the March 31st total of 8,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SGA. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in Saga Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Saga Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saga Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saga Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $1,180,000. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 123,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 19,650 shares during the period. 74.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saga Communications Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of SGA traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.41. The company had a trading volume of 3,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,460. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.19. Saga Communications has a 1-year low of $18.89 and a 1-year high of $27.00. The stock has a market cap of $146.55 million, a PE ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.41.

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $29.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.50 million. Saga Communications had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 5.34%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Saga Communications will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Saga Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Saga Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Saga Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th.

About Saga Communications

Saga Communications, Inc, a media company, engages in acquiring, developing, and operating broadcast properties in the United States. The company's radio stations employ various programming formats, including classic hits, country, classic country, hot/soft/urban adult contemporary, oldies, classic rock, rock, and news/talk.