TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

TEGNA Price Performance

Shares of TGNA stock opened at $20.78 on Thursday. TEGNA has a twelve month low of $14.87 and a twelve month high of $21.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.15.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). TEGNA had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The firm had revenue of $650.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.28 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that TEGNA will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. TEGNA’s payout ratio is 23.58%.

Institutional Trading of TEGNA

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TGNA. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in TEGNA by 33.6% in the second quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 317,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after buying an additional 79,900 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in TEGNA by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 37,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 702,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,773,000 after acquiring an additional 119,690 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in TEGNA during the third quarter valued at $6,936,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in TEGNA in the second quarter valued at $5,504,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc is a leading U.S. broadcast and digital media company that was formed as a spin-off from Gannett Co, Inc in June 2015. The company’s primary operations include the ownership and operation of local television stations, digital publishing platforms and marketing solutions designed to serve both national advertisers and local businesses. Through its portfolio of media assets, TEGNA delivers news, information and entertainment across multiple platforms, including over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite distribution, streaming services and proprietary websites and mobile apps.

TEGNA owns and operates approximately 60 television stations in 51 markets, reaching nearly 40 percent of U.S.