Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GTN. Zacks Research upgraded Gray Media from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Gray Media in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Gray Media from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th.

Gray Media Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GTN opened at $5.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $516.56 million, a P/E ratio of -3.56 and a beta of 0.89. Gray Media has a 52-week low of $3.13 and a 52-week high of $6.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $4.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.04.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $792.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.50 million. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 2.51% and a negative net margin of 2.75%.The company’s revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gray Media will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Media

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Gray Media by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,878,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gray Media by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,188,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,113,000 after purchasing an additional 994,474 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Gray Media by 43.6% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,236,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,758,000 after buying an additional 983,415 shares during the period. DSC Meridian Capital LP purchased a new position in Gray Media during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,432,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Gray Media by 76.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,361,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,169,000 after buying an additional 590,704 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Media Company Profile

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) is a U.S.-based broadcasting and digital media company that owns and operates a portfolio of local television stations and associated digital platforms. The company’s core business centers on delivering local news, sports and entertainment programming through its network-affiliated broadcast outlets. In addition to traditional over-the-air distribution, Gray Media supports multi-platform video streaming and on-demand services for audiences across its markets.

Gray Media’s television stations carry network programming from major national broadcasters, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, and often feature locally produced news and public affairs content.