Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.40.

A number of equities analysts have commented on GTN shares. Benchmark lifted their price target on Gray Television from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Gray Television from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Gray Television to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Gray Television Price Performance

Shares of Gray Television stock opened at $5.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.42. Gray Television has a 52-week low of $4.39 and a 52-week high of $10.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.58 and a 200-day moving average of $6.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $547.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.52.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.25. Gray Television had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 2.13%. The business had revenue of $823.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.48) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Gray Television will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -266.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GTN. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Gray Television by 13.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 3,097 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 79,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 7,358 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 733.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 6,554 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the first quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gray Television Company Profile

Gray Television, Inc, a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets.