Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $4.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GTN. Barrington Research upgraded Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com upgraded Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.67.

Gray Television Price Performance

Shares of GTN stock opened at $3.50 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $3.64 and its 200-day moving average is $4.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $348.34 million, a PE ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.41. Gray Television has a 52 week low of $2.91 and a 52 week high of $7.41.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.59. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Gray Television will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is 9.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gray Television

In other Gray Television news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $61,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 55,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,085.95. This represents a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Television

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its stake in Gray Television by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,763,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,155,000 after buying an additional 355,067 shares during the period. Miller Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Gray Television by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC now owns 3,384,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,661,000 after buying an additional 1,926,330 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Gray Television by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,009,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,773,000 after buying an additional 36,541 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Gray Television by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,971,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,568,000 after buying an additional 57,481 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Gray Television by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,161,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,660,000 after buying an additional 400,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

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.