Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on GTN. Benchmark increased their price target on Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Gray Media from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Gray Media in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gray Media from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.13.

Gray Media Price Performance

NYSE GTN opened at $5.38 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $549.24 million, a P/E ratio of -3.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Gray Media has a 12-month low of $3.13 and a 12-month high of $6.30.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $792.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.50 million. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 2.51% and a negative net margin of 2.75%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that Gray Media will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GTN. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gray Media during the first quarter valued at $28,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Gray Media by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in shares of Gray Media in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Gray Media in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Gray Media in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gray Media

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) is a U.S.-based broadcasting and digital media company that owns and operates a portfolio of local television stations and associated digital platforms. The company’s core business centers on delivering local news, sports and entertainment programming through its network-affiliated broadcast outlets. In addition to traditional over-the-air distribution, Gray Media supports multi-platform video streaming and on-demand services for audiences across its markets.

Gray Media’s television stations carry network programming from major national broadcasters, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, and often feature locally produced news and public affairs content.