Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Stock Price

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) had its target price reduced by Benchmark from $8.00 to $7.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on GTN. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.00.

Gray Television Price Performance

GTN stock opened at $3.84 on Tuesday. Gray Television has a 1 year low of $2.91 and a 1 year high of $7.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.42 million, a PE ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day moving average is $3.87 and its 200-day moving average is $4.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Gray Television will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is presently 9.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of Gray Television stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $61,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,085.95. This trade represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 15.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gray Television

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Gray Television during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Gray Television during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Gray Television by 157.6% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Gray Television by 214,100.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 12,846 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.