Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on GTN. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gray Television presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.67.

Gray Television Trading Up 8.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GTN opened at $4.79 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Gray Television has a 12-month low of $3.95 and a 12-month high of $10.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $477.40 million, a P/E ratio of 3.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.47.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.08). Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $950.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.57) EPS. Gray Television’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Gray Television will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is 21.33%.

Institutional Trading of Gray Television

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Gray Television in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Gray Television by 168.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 42,075 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gray Television during the 1st quarter worth about $2,010,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Gray Television during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,093,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Gray Television by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 212,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 6,652 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gray Television Company Profile

Gray Television, Inc, a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets.