TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

TGNA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TEGNA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in TEGNA in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of TEGNA by 85.4% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of TEGNA in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of TEGNA by 160.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TEGNA in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

TEGNA Stock Down 0.9%

TGNA stock opened at $18.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.33. TEGNA has a 12 month low of $14.87 and a 12 month high of $21.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.13.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). TEGNA had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 11.97%.The company had revenue of $650.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $658.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. TEGNA’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TEGNA will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. TEGNA’s payout ratio is presently 23.58%.

TEGNA Company Profile

TEGNA Inc is a leading U.S. broadcast and digital media company that was formed as a spin-off from Gannett Co, Inc in June 2015. The company’s primary operations include the ownership and operation of local television stations, digital publishing platforms and marketing solutions designed to serve both national advertisers and local businesses. Through its portfolio of media assets, TEGNA delivers news, information and entertainment across multiple platforms, including over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite distribution, streaming services and proprietary websites and mobile apps.

TEGNA owns and operates approximately 60 television stations in 51 markets, reaching nearly 40 percent of U.S.