Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on GTN. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gray Media from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research cut Gray Media from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.88.

Gray Media Trading Up 13.5%

Shares of GTN opened at $5.58 on Friday. Gray Media has a 1-year low of $3.55 and a 1-year high of $6.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.66 and a 200 day moving average of $4.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $575.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $972.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $955.75 million. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 1.12% and a negative net margin of 0.83%. Gray Media’s revenue was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Gray Media will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Gray Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Gray Media’s payout ratio is currently 110.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gray Media

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GTN. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Gray Media in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gray Media by 57.1% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,873 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC bought a new stake in Gray Media during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Gray Media during the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Gray Media by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Gray Media

Gray Media, formerly known as Gray Television, is a multimedia company that owns and operates local television stations and related digital media properties in markets across the United States. Its stations provide local news, weather, sports, public affairs and entertainment programming, while also distributing content through websites, mobile platforms and other digital channels.

The company’s broadcast portfolio includes affiliates of major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, as well as independent and specialty stations.