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

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

Insider Activity at Gray Television

In related news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,225,256.44. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its position in Gray Television by 27.6% in the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,408,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,990 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in Gray Television by 287.9% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 232,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 172,801 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gray Television during the second quarter worth about $881,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Gray Television by 114.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 272,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 145,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Gray Television by 454.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 142,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 116,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Television Stock Performance

NYSE:GTN traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $3.31. 806,154 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,182. Gray Television has a 1-year low of $2.91 and a 1-year high of $10.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.78 and a 200 day moving average of $4.75.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.57) EPS. Gray Television’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Gray Television will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GTN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barrington Research raised Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.67.

Gray Television Company Profile

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.