Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.8750.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GTN. Zacks Research cut Gray Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Gray Media from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Benchmark lifted their price target on Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gray Media from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Gray Media Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:GTN opened at $4.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.84. Gray Media has a 52 week low of $3.50 and a 52 week high of $6.43. The company has a market capitalization of $424.73 million, a P/E ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Gray Media’s payout ratio is currently -20.92%.

Institutional Trading of Gray Media

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTN. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Gray Media by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 464,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 32,173 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Gray Media during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Gray Media by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 9,358 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Gray Media by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 14,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Gray Media by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 145,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 9,575 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.