TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Short Interest Update

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,105,295 shares, a drop of 12.7% from the December 31st total of 10,435,495 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,324,741 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,324,741 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TEGNA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi grew its position in TEGNA by 1,507.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 1.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 95,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 1,726 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of TEGNA during the first quarter valued at $183,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 4.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,837,000 after buying an additional 21,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of TEGNA by 193.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 573,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,445,000 after acquiring an additional 377,578 shares during the period. 92.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TEGNA Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE TGNA opened at $18.92 on Thursday. TEGNA has a 1-year low of $14.87 and a 1-year high of $21.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $650.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.28 million. TEGNA had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 11.97%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that TEGNA will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TGNA shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TEGNA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.75.

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc is a leading U.S. broadcast and digital media company that was formed as a spin-off from Gannett Co, Inc in June 2015. The company’s primary operations include the ownership and operation of local television stations, digital publishing platforms and marketing solutions designed to serve both national advertisers and local businesses. Through its portfolio of media assets, TEGNA delivers news, information and entertainment across multiple platforms, including over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite distribution, streaming services and proprietary websites and mobile apps.

TEGNA owns and operates approximately 60 television stations in 51 markets, reaching nearly 40 percent of U.S.