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

Saga Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGA) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,100 shares, a decrease of 60.7% from the January 31st total of 20,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 23,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saga Communications news, major shareholder Gate City Capital Management, acquired 240,609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.25 per share, for a total transaction of $2,706,851.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 863,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,718,256.25. This represents a 38.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward K. Christian Trust sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.56, for a total value of $62,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 938,250 shares in the company, valued at $11,784,420. This trade represents a 0.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,943 shares of company stock worth $200,590 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 21.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Saga Communications by 5.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 53,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 2,986 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new position in Saga Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $265,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Saga Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,675,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Saga Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $115,000. Institutional investors own 74.28% of the company’s stock.

Saga Communications Price Performance

Shares of SGA stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $11.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,686. The company has a quick ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 2.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Saga Communications has a 12-month low of $10.75 and a 12-month high of $24.67. The company has a market capitalization of $70.44 million, a P/E ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.18.

Saga Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.89%. Saga Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 138.89%.

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.