Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Upgraded to Hold at Barrington Research

Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

GTN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gray Television has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

Gray Television Stock Performance

NYSE:GTN traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,173,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,759. The stock has a market cap of $467.45 million, a P/E ratio of 3.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Gray Television has a 12-month low of $3.95 and a 12-month high of $10.07.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.08). Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $950.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.57) earnings per share. Gray Television’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Gray Television will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Television

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Gray Television by 1.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 239,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Gray Television by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 91,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Gray Television by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,097 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Gray Television by 2.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 139,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Gray Television by 34.5% in the second quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 14,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 3,781 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gray Television

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.