Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Stock Price Up 5.9% - Here's What Happened

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) shares rose 5.9% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $4.95 and last traded at $4.95. Approximately 1,403,461 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 6% from the average daily volume of 1,323,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GTN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Gray Television from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $4.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gray Television presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.33.

Gray Television Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $486.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.35.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.59. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gray Television, Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Gray Television Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gray Television's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gray Television news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $61,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,085.95. This represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Gray Television

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Television in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $143,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 66,578 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gray Television by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 239,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gray Television during the third quarter worth $185,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Gray Television by 64.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 17,480 shares of the company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 6,824 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

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.