Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on GTN. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Gray Television from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.17.

Gray Television Stock Performance

NYSE:GTN opened at $4.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Gray Television has a 1 year low of $2.91 and a 1 year high of $7.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.96. The company has a market cap of $470.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.26. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $772.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gray Television will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $61,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,085.95. The trade was a 22.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 15.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Television

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 14,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 21,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 3,419 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 30,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 3,547 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 336,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after buying an additional 3,737 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 157.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

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.