Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GTN. Benchmark upped their price target on Gray Media from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Gray Media in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Gray Media from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.25.

Gray Media Price Performance

Gray Media stock opened at $4.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.07. The stock has a market cap of $436.43 million, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.89. Gray Media has a 12-month low of $3.13 and a 12-month high of $6.30.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $749.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. Gray Media had a return on equity of 5.50% and a net margin of 2.81%.Gray Media’s quarterly revenue was down 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Gray Media will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio is 78.05%.

Institutional Trading of Gray Media

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Gray Media during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Gray Media during the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 94,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 18,928 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Gray Media in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.