TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $19.07, but opened at $20.78. TEGNA shares last traded at $20.6750, with a volume of 3,319,317 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TGNA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.75.

TEGNA Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.28 and its 200-day moving average is $19.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $650.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $658.28 million. TEGNA had a net margin of 11.97% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TGNA. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 1,507.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in TEGNA by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 95,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in TEGNA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $183,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in TEGNA by 4.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,837,000 after buying an additional 21,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of TEGNA by 193.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 573,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,445,000 after buying an additional 377,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc is a leading U.S. broadcast and digital media company that was formed as a spin-off from Gannett Co, Inc in June 2015. The company’s primary operations include the ownership and operation of local television stations, digital publishing platforms and marketing solutions designed to serve both national advertisers and local businesses. Through its portfolio of media assets, TEGNA delivers news, information and entertainment across multiple platforms, including over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite distribution, streaming services and proprietary websites and mobile apps.

TEGNA owns and operates approximately 60 television stations in 51 markets, reaching nearly 40 percent of U.S.