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

Shares of Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.8750.

A number of brokerages have commented on GTN. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $6.50 price objective on shares of Gray Media in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th.

Gray Media Stock Down 5.5%

Shares of NYSE:GTN traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 113,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,322. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.97 and a 200-day moving average of $4.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.50 million, a P/E ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 0.93. Gray Media has a 12-month low of $3.50 and a 12-month high of $6.43.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.05 million. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 3.12%.The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.23) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gray Media will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio is -20.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 57,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,200.40. This represents a 92.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 8.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gray Media

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 7.4% in the first 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 purchased a new stake in Gray Media in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Gray Media by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,358 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Gray Media by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Gray Media by 7.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 145,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 9,575 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is currently 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.