Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Stock Price Down 6.1% – Time to Sell?

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN)’s stock price dropped 6.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $5.08 and last traded at $5.0450. Approximately 162,683 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,372,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GTN shares. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Gray Media in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.88.

Gray Media Trading Down 7.0%

The stock has a market cap of $513.19 million, a P/E ratio of -8.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $4.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.52.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.29. Gray Media had a negative net margin of 0.83% and a negative return on equity of 1.12%. The company had revenue of $839.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.13 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.71) EPS. Gray Media’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Gray Media Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -52.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gray Media

In other news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 57,000 shares of Gray Media stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,200.40. This trade represents a 92.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 8.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gray Media

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Gray Media by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 464,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 32,173 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gray Media in the first quarter worth $28,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 17.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,358 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 19.7% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 7.0% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

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.