Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Short Interest Down 19.3% in February

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,690,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the February 13th total of 4,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Gray Television Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GTN opened at $5.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $520.41 million, a PE ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.45. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.35. Gray Television has a 1 year low of $2.91 and a 1 year high of $7.41.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.59. Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Gray Television will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GTN shares. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Gray Television from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $4.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gray Television currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.33.

Insider Transactions at Gray Television

In related news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $213,085.95. This represents a 22.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miller Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in Gray Television by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC now owns 3,384,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926,330 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gray Television by 903.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 719,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 808,764 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the fourth quarter worth about $2,170,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Gray Television by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,161,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,660,000 after purchasing an additional 400,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Gray Television in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,261,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.