Short Interest in Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) Rises By 23.7%

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,496 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the January 29th total of 6,871 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,769 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,769 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SGA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Saga Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Saga Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Saga Communications Price Performance

SGA traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $11.54. The stock had a trading volume of 4,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,718. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.42 and a 200-day moving average of $11.94. Saga Communications has a fifty-two week low of $10.68 and a fifty-two week high of $14.27. The company has a market capitalization of $74.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.80 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Saga Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. Saga Communications’s payout ratio is 2,000.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saga Communications

In other news, major shareholder Edward K. Christian Trust sold 5,665 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.07, for a total transaction of $68,376.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 881,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,634,201.08. This represents a 0.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 21.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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. 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. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Saga Communications by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings 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 period. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted 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 period. 74.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saga Communications Company Profile

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.