TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TGNA. Benchmark lifted their target price on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

TEGNA Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:TGNA opened at $18.72 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $16.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.06. TEGNA has a 12-month low of $12.35 and a 12-month high of $19.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $806.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.72 million. TEGNA had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 16.75%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that TEGNA will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. TEGNA's payout ratio is 17.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of TEGNA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,718.80. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in TEGNA during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP raised its position in TEGNA by 455.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in TEGNA by 20.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in TEGNA by 48.2% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in TEGNA by 146.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. 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.