TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 2,065,553 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 997,584 shares.The stock last traded at $18.8750 and had previously closed at $18.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TEGNA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

TEGNA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.13.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). TEGNA had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 11.97%.The company had revenue of $650.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. TEGNA’s revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TEGNA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of TEGNA by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,008,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,944,000 after buying an additional 82,140 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 6,587.9% in the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,140,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,170,000 after acquiring an additional 4,078,275 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 5,517.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,242,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184,505 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,410,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,400,000 after purchasing an additional 72,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in TEGNA by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,399,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,050,000 after purchasing an additional 30,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

TEGNA Company Profile

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.