Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Saga Communications (NASDAQ:SGA) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. Saga Communications had a negative net margin of 8.55% and a positive return on equity of 3.87%. The company had revenue of $26.66 million during the quarter.

Here are the key takeaways from Saga Communications’ conference call:

• Revenue continued to decline: Third-quarter net revenue fell 5.4% to $26.7 million, with local and national revenue down 11% and 13.2%, respectively. Saga recorded a $9.2 million non-cash FCC-license impairment; excluding it, the operating loss was $563,000.
• Digital growth is gaining traction, but has not yet offset traditional weakness. Blended digital revenue rose 24.9% in the quarter and 55% year to date, lifting digital to 19% of gross revenue for the first nine months; non-blended digital revenue fell 7% in the quarter.
• Political advertising is supporting the near-term outlook. Saga expects $5.7 million in gross political revenue for 2026, while fourth-quarter revenue is pacing up 9% overall but down 5.7% excluding political. Early first-quarter 2027 pacing is up 5.8%, with digital up 29.5%.
• Saga maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.25 per share, an aggregate payment of about $1.6 million, and reported $23.5 million in cash and short-term investments at quarter-end. The company said it expects to continue funding its digital transformation while returning capital to shareholders.

Saga Communications Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Saga Communications stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $6.92. 59,091 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,834. Saga Communications has a fifty-two week low of $6.62 and a fifty-two week high of $12.76. The company has a market cap of $44.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.02 and a beta of -0.12. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.83.

Saga Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.4%. Saga Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -72.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Saga Communications

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SGA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Saga Communications by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Saga Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $257,000. 74.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Saga Communications Company Profile

Saga Communications, Inc. is a broadcast media company that owns and operates radio stations in markets across the United States. Its stations offer a mix of programming formats, including music, news, talk, sports, and other locally focused content designed to serve regional audiences. In addition to traditional AM and FM broadcasting, Saga provides digital media and marketing services to advertisers. These services may include online audio, streaming, website and social media advertising, and other multimedia solutions that complement its radio platforms.