Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a decline of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 4,770,000 shares. Currently, 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Gray Television Price Performance

NYSE:GTN traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.31. 806,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,182. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $3.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.75. Gray Television has a 1-year low of $2.91 and a 1-year high of $10.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.41 million, a PE ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.39.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.08). Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The business had revenue of $950.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.57) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Gray Television will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.68%. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gray Television

In other Gray Television news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of Gray Television stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total transaction of $656,443.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,225,256.44. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 13.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GTN. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the third quarter worth $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Gray Television during the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gray Television in the second quarter worth about $60,000. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television in the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GTN. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research raised shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

About Gray Television

Gray Television, Inc, a television broadcasting company, owns and/or operates television stations and digital assets in the United States. It also broadcasts secondary digital channels affiliated to ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, as well as various other networks and program services, including CW Plus Network, MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, THE365, and Outlaw; and local news/weather channels in various markets.