Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,690,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 4,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Gray Television Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE GTN traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $5.13. 2,178,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.41 million, a PE ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.45. Gray Television has a fifty-two week low of $2.91 and a fifty-two week high of $7.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.83 and a 200 day moving average of $4.35.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59. Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gray Television will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. Gray Television’s payout ratio is currently 9.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $61,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,347 shares in the company, valued at $213,085.95. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Gray Television by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,009,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after buying an additional 36,541 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Gray Television by 114.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 145,263 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Gray Television in the fourth quarter worth about $340,000. Capital Management Corp VA grew its stake in Gray Television by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,763,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,155,000 after buying an additional 355,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 109.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 127,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 66,578 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GTN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Gray Television from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $4.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gray Television presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.33.

About Gray Television

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.