Zacks Investment Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN)

Zacks Investment Management trimmed its holdings in Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Free Report) by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,104 shares of the company's stock after selling 563,918 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Gray Television were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gray Television in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Gray Television by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,009,896 shares of the company's stock worth $10,773,000 after buying an additional 36,541 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Gray Television by 27.4% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 4,083 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Gray Television during the 3rd quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gray Television from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Television to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.67.

Gray Television Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of GTN traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,105,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,055. The company's 50 day moving average is $5.01 and its 200 day moving average is $5.14. The stock has a market cap of $388.71 million, a PE ratio of 2.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.36. Gray Television, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.90 and a 12-month high of $10.07. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $950.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $967.49 million. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.57) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Gray Television, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television's payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insider Activity at Gray Television

In other news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total transaction of $656,443.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,256.44. This trade represents a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 13.83% of the company's stock.

Gray Television 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.