StockNews.com Upgrades TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on TGNA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark upped their price objective on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

TEGNA Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of TGNA traded down $0.47 on Friday, reaching $17.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,814,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,250,921. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. TEGNA has a twelve month low of $12.35 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.05 and a 200-day moving average of $14.95.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. TEGNA had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 16.75%. The company had revenue of $806.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that TEGNA will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TEGNA

In other TEGNA news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of TEGNA stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,535,718.80. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of TEGNA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGNA. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of TEGNA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in TEGNA during the first quarter valued at $46,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in TEGNA by 455.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of TEGNA by 20.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in TEGNA by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. 92.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc, a media company, provides broadcast advertising and marketing products and services for businesses. The company operates 47 television stations in 39 markets of the United States that produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment. It offers local and national non-political advertising; political advertising; production of programming from third parties; production of advertising materials; and digital marketing services, as well as advertising services on the stations' Websites, tablets, and mobile products.