Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

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

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GTN. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gray Media from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gray Media from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.88.

Gray Media Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of GTN opened at $4.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $462.90 million, a PE ratio of -7.37, a PEG ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 0.96. Gray Media has a 12 month low of $3.55 and a 12 month high of $6.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.29. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 0.83%.The firm had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.71) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Gray Media will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GTN. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Gray Media by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gray Media by 57.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Gray Media by 60.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 16,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Gray Media in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Gray Media in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gray Media Company Profile

Gray Media, Inc (NYSE: GTN) is a media company that owns and operates local television stations and digital media properties across the United States. Its stations provide local news, weather, sports, investigative reporting and community programming, while also carrying programming from major broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW.

The company’s operations include television broadcasting, digital publishing, video production and related media services. Gray Media also produces and distributes original content through its local stations and other media platforms, serving audiences in a range of metropolitan and regional markets.

Founded as Gray Television in 1946, the company expanded through acquisitions and organic growth before adopting the Gray Media name.