Saga (LON:SAGA) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Saga (LON:SAGA) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported GBX 20.50 earnings per share for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. The company had revenue of £367.50 million during the quarter. Saga had a return on equity of 23.50% and a net margin of 3.25%.

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

• Strong first-half performance: Underlying revenue rose 14% to £366 million, while underlying profit before tax nearly doubled to £46.6 million, driven by growth across travel and insurance.
• Saga raised full-year underlying profit guidance to £65 million–£70 million, versus £44 million last year, and said it now expects to reach its medium-term targets of £100 million profit and leverage below two times ahead of January 2030.
• Ocean Cruise remained the main growth engine, with profit before tax up 38%, per diems up 13% and strong forward bookings supporting continued pricing power; group net debt fell to £429.1 million and leverage improved to 2.7 times.
• The insurance transformation is gaining traction, with Insurance Broking profit before tax up 75%, policies in force up 5% and lower operating costs expected as the Ageas partnership and simpler operating model mature.
• Management flagged risks from low river levels, which are expected to reduce full-year River Cruise profit, and Middle East disruption affecting the Holidays business; Ageas-related exceptional costs will also continue next year, albeit at a lower level.

Saga Stock Performance

LON:SAGA opened at GBX 775 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 658.33 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 601.07. Saga has a 1-year low of GBX 237 and a 1-year high of GBX 797. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 503.16. The stock has a market cap of £1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 322.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 2.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SAGA. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Saga from GBX 1,025 to GBX 1,130 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Saga from GBX 795 to GBX 855 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 992.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Saga news, insider Mark Watkins bought 276 shares of Saga stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of GBX 652 per share, with a total value of £1,799.52. Also, insider Mike Hazell purchased 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of GBX 652 per share, with a total value of £1,799.52. 30.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Saga Company Profile

Saga exists to deliver exceptional experiences for our customers every day, whilst being a driver of positive change in our markets and communities.