Insider Selling: Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Director Sells 57,000 Shares of Stock

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Director Richard Lee Boger sold 57,000 shares of Gray Media stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $20,200.40. This represents a 92.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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.

Gray Media Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:GTN traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.13. 1,533,564 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,127. Gray Media Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.50 and a twelve month high of $6.43. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.92 and a 200 day moving average of $4.83. The stock has a market cap of $423.80 million, a PE ratio of -2.70 and a beta of 1.04.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.32) by ($0.02). Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 3.12%.The firm had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.23) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Gray Media Inc. will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Gray Media’s payout ratio is presently -20.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Media

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Gray Media during the first quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gray Media by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC acquired a new stake in Gray Media in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Gray Media in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Guggenheim lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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 Gray Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gray Media has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.88.

About Gray Media

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.