Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $6.67.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GTN shares. Benchmark decreased their target price on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Transactions at Gray Television

In other news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of Gray Television stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total value of $656,443.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,256.44. This trade represents a 22.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Television

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTN. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Gray Television by 287.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 232,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 172,801 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its position in Gray Television by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,408,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,990 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Gray Television by 454.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 142,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 116,821 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Gray Television by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Gray Television by 367.2% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 63,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 50,223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Television Price Performance

NYSE GTN opened at $4.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.08 and a 200 day moving average of $5.17. Gray Television has a one year low of $3.95 and a one year high of $10.07. The company has a market capitalization of $408.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.73, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 1.36.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $950.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.49 million. Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.57) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gray Television will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

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.