TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Shares of TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $17.50, but opened at $18.59. TEGNA shares last traded at $18.26, with a volume of 356,410 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on TGNA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of TEGNA from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded TEGNA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

TEGNA Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $17.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.52.

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

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. TEGNA's payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Insider Transactions at TEGNA

In other news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,535,718.80. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TEGNA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TEGNA during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in TEGNA by 48.2% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in TEGNA by 455.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,025 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in TEGNA by 247.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of TEGNA by 20.4% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 92.19% of the company's stock.

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.