Sei Investments Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Gray Media Inc. $GTN

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) by 137.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 267,218 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.44% of Gray Media worth $2,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Gray Media by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 57.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 54,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Gray Media by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 4,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Gray Media by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 4,278 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Gray Media

Here are the key news stories impacting Gray Media this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings significantly exceeded expectations: Gray Media reported adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, compared with the consensus estimate of a $0.08 per-share loss and a $0.42 per-share loss in the year-ago quarter. Gray Media Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue also beat estimates and grew year over year: Second-quarter revenue was $839.0 million, above the $795.1 million consensus forecast and up 8.7% from the prior-year period. Management said the results are beginning to reflect benefits from its merger-and-acquisition activity. Gray Media Announces Second Quarter Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance was well above expectations: Gray projected revenue of $935 million to $965 million, compared with analyst expectations of approximately $892 million. The company did not provide a readable EPS guidance figure in the release data.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gray declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record on September 15. The annualized payout is $0.32 per share, representing an indicated yield of roughly 6% based on the cited share price. Gray Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial risks remain: Despite the quarterly beat, Gray reported a negative net margin and negative return on equity, while its balance sheet carries relatively high leverage. Investors may therefore focus on whether stronger revenue and M&A-related benefits can translate into sustainable cash flow and profitability.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on GTN. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $6.50 target price on shares of Gray Media in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gray Media has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.88.

Gray Media Stock Down 0.5%

GTN stock opened at $5.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.52. Gray Media Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.50 and a 12 month high of $6.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $548.73 million, a PE ratio of -8.76 and a beta of 0.94.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.29. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The firm had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.71) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Gray Media Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gray Media’s payout ratio is -52.46%.

Gray Media 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.