Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 136.1% to 9,979 shares as of September 15, representing 0.2% of Saga Communications’ outstanding shares and 0.7 days of average trading volume.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with two Hold ratings and one Sell rating, resulting in an average “Reduce” rating. Shares recently traded at $8.60, near the company’s one-year low.
• Saga reported quarterly EPS of $0.15, beating the consensus estimate of a $0.18 loss, while revenue reached $26.4 million. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equivalent to an annualized yield of 11.6%.

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,979 shares, an increase of 136.1% from the August 31st total of 4,227 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,634 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Saga Communications in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Saga Communications Price Performance

Shares of Saga Communications stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $8.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,618. The firm has a market cap of $54.68 million, a PE ratio of -6.23 and a beta of -0.11. Saga Communications has a one year low of $8.24 and a one year high of $13.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.87.

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.33. Saga Communications had a positive return on equity of 3.87% and a negative net margin of 8.55%.The company had revenue of $26.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.50 million.

Saga Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 23rd. Saga Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -72.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Saga Communications

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 350,655 shares of the company's stock worth $4,103,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 6.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,972 shares of the company's stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications during the second quarter valued at $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.28% of the company's stock.

Saga Communications Company Profile

Saga Communications, Inc is a radio broadcasting company that owns and operates radio stations in markets across the United States. Its stations provide locally focused programming, including news, talk, sports, and music formats, and generate revenue primarily through the sale of advertising and related promotional services.

In addition to traditional AM and FM broadcasting, Saga's operations include digital media and other services intended to help advertisers reach local audiences across multiple platforms.

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