TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Trading 6.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)’s share price traded up 6.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.71. 1,039,279 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 1,190,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark raised their price target on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of TEGNA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TEGNA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.75.

TEGNA Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.04). TEGNA had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 16.75%. Equities research analysts expect that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TEGNA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in TEGNA in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of TEGNA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 80.2% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in TEGNA by 95.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in TEGNA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 92.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.