Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.8750.

Several equities analysts have commented on GTN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Gray Media from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Gray Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Benchmark increased their target price on Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 57,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,200.40. The trade was a 92.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 8.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Media

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GTN. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Gray Media by 7.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 464,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 32,173 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Media in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Gray Media by 17.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,358 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Gray Media by 19.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Gray Media by 7.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 145,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 9,575 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gray Media Stock Performance

Shares of GTN stock opened at $4.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. Gray Media has a 52 week low of $3.50 and a 52 week high of $6.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.67 million, a PE ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.76.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.02). Gray Media had a negative net margin of 3.12% and a negative return on equity of 3.07%. The business had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.23) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Gray Media will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Gray Media’s payout ratio is -20.92%.

Gray Media Company Profile

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.