Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Shares Down 6.1% – Time to Sell?

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) shares traded down 6.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $5.08 and last traded at $5.0450. Approximately 162,683 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 1,372,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GTN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Gray Media in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Gray Media from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gray Media has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.88.

Gray Media Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $491.61 million, a P/E ratio of -7.84 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.13 million. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.71) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Gray Media Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio is presently -52.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gray Media news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 57,000 shares of Gray Media stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.40, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,200.40. The trade was a 92.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 8.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gray Media

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Gray Media during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gray Media by 57.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Media in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Gray Media by 68.2% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Gray Media during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 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.