TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Short Interest Up 16.1% in February

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,430,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the February 13th total of 5,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

TEGNA Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGNA traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.53. 9,652,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,853,481. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $17.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. TEGNA has a 12-month low of $12.35 and a 12-month high of $19.62.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. TEGNA's payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on TGNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised TEGNA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of TEGNA in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered TEGNA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.75.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On TEGNA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TGNA. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in TEGNA by 26.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 891,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,068,000 after buying an additional 184,845 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management boosted its position in TEGNA by 648.8% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 20,346 shares of the company's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 17,629 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new position in TEGNA in the 4th quarter valued at about $476,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in TEGNA by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,873,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,260,000 after purchasing an additional 93,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TEGNA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $528,000. 92.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TEGNA

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.