Short Interest in Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Drops By 67.8%

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,227 shares, a decrease of 67.8% from the August 15th total of 13,144 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 16,004 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Saga Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ SGA traded down $0.11 on Monday, reaching $9.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,757. Saga Communications has a twelve month low of $8.24 and a twelve month high of $13.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.06. The stock has a market cap of $57.37 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of -0.11.

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.50 million.

Saga Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.1%. Saga Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -72.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Saga Communications in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Saga Communications has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SGA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Saga Communications by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 350,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position 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 valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares during the period. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.28% of the company’s stock.

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.