Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC) Trading Up 7.2% – Here’s What Happened

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE:EVC)’s stock price shot up 7.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.79 and last traded at $8.7990. 480,159 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 1,236,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Entravision Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Entravision Communications Trading Up 15.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $868.56 million, a PE ratio of -43.03 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $4.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Entravision Communications (NYSE:EVC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $196.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.49 million. Entravision Communications had a negative net margin of 3.41% and a negative return on equity of 25.31%.

Entravision Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. Entravision Communications’s payout ratio is -90.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Alexandra Seros sold 278,163 shares of Entravision Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total transaction of $2,169,671.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,629,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,507,604. The trade was a 3.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,690,963 shares of company stock worth $29,047,481. 8.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entravision Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EVC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 265.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 572,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 415,348 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 775,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 289,451 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Entravision Communications during the 4th quarter worth $521,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Entravision Communications by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 568,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 113,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Entravision Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $311,000. 69.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entravision Communications Company Profile

Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) is a diversified Spanish-language media and advertising company headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company develops and distributes multimedia content tailored to Hispanic audiences across the United States, leveraging a combination of traditional broadcasting and digital platforms to reach consumers and marketers seeking to engage this fast-growing demographic.

In its broadcasting segment, Entravision owns and operates more than 50 television stations affiliated primarily with leading Spanish-language networks, as well as over 40 radio stations in key U.S.