Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 16.9% to 11,511 shares as of March 31, leaving a days-to-cover of 1.2 and only about 0.2% of the float sold short.
• Major shareholder Edward K. Christian Trust sold 5,665 shares on Feb. 25 (a 0.64% reduction), but insiders still own 22.40% of the company while institutional investors hold roughly 74.28%.
• Saga pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00) for a 8.4% dividend yield, even as it reported quarterly EPS of $1.27 (beating estimates) amid a negative net margin and negative P/E, and the stock's average analyst rating is "Reduce".

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,511 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the March 15th total of 13,850 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,543 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Saga Communications

In related news, major shareholder Edward K. Christian Trust sold 5,665 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total value of $68,376.55. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 881,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,634,201.08. This trade represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 22.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saga Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SGA. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Saga Communications by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,406 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 256.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Saga Communications by 30,720.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,951 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 16,896 shares during the last quarter. 74.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Saga Communications Stock Performance

Saga Communications stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,006. The company has a quick ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Saga Communications has a 52 week low of $10.68 and a 52 week high of $14.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.61 and a 200-day moving average of $11.77. The firm has a market cap of $76.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.78 and a beta of -0.03.

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $1.23. Saga Communications had a negative net margin of 7.37% and a positive return on equity of 4.43%. The firm had revenue of $26.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Saga Communications will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Saga Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. Saga Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -81.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SGA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Saga Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Saga Communications from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce".

About Saga Communications

Saga Communications, Inc NASDAQ: SGA is an independent radio broadcasting company that owns and operates a portfolio of local radio stations across the United States. Headquartered in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, the company focuses on full‐service radio properties offering a variety of formats, including music, news‐talk and sports programming. In addition to traditional over‐the‐air broadcasts, Saga leverages web streaming and mobile platforms to broaden listener reach and provide advertisers with multimedia opportunities.

Founded in 1985 by Edward J.

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