Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Short Interest Update

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the October 31st total of 4,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Gray Television Price Performance

GTN stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.32. The stock had a trading volume of 252,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,113. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.21. Gray Television has a twelve month low of $3.95 and a twelve month high of $10.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.56 million, a P/E ratio of 2.85, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 1.36.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $950.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.49 million. Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.57) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Gray Television will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total value of $656,443.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,256.44. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Television

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GTN. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Television during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Gray Television by 733.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 6,554 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in Gray Television in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gray Television in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GTN. Barrington Research raised Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gray Television currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.67.

About Gray Television

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.