Meritage Portfolio Management Invests $346,000 in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)

Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 22,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 94.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of TEGNA by 925.4% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 3,276 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 34.4% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of TEGNA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in TEGNA by 437.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 7,884 shares during the period. 92.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TEGNA Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:TGNA opened at $13.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.21 and a 200 day moving average of $14.83. TEGNA Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.18 and a 1-year high of $17.37.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $725.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.78 million. TEGNA had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 12.41%. TEGNA’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TEGNA Inc. will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.114 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.35%.

Insider Transactions at TEGNA

In related news, CEO David T. Lougee sold 43,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total transaction of $643,125.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 725,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,667,069.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David T. Lougee sold 43,750 shares of TEGNA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.70, for a total value of $643,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 725,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,667,069.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David T. Lougee sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.21, for a total transaction of $2,281,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 636,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,677,545.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGNA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on TEGNA from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of TEGNA from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of TEGNA from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th.

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.