Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stock Position in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,033 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,975 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in TEGNA were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGNA. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in TEGNA by 142.1% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in TEGNA by 389.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in TEGNA in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in TEGNA in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in TEGNA by 247.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the period. 92.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TEGNA Stock Performance

TEGNA stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $13.98. 1,268,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,107,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.53 and a quick ratio of 2.53. TEGNA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.35 and a fifty-two week high of $16.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.38.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. TEGNA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 11.86%. The business had revenue of $710.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $715.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. TEGNA’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David T. Lougee sold 98,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.98, for a total value of $1,376,149.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 594,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,309,725.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of TEGNA stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.99, for a total value of $349,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 190,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,664,731.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David T. Lougee sold 98,437 shares of TEGNA stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.98, for a total value of $1,376,149.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 594,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,309,725.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

TEGNA Company Profile

TEGNA Inc, a media company, provides broadcast advertising and marketing products and services for businesses. The company operates 47 television stations in 39 markets of the United States that produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment. It offers local and national non-political advertising; political advertising; production of programming from third parties; production of advertising materials; and digital marketing services, as well as advertising services on the stations' Websites, tablets, and mobile products.