Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Gray Media's stock experienced a significant increase, opening at $4.38 after an upgrade from Barrington Research, which raised its price target to $6.50.
• Other analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with Wells Fargo increasing its target to $5.00 and Benchmark raising it to $9.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "sell."
• Recent insider activity saw CFO Jeffrey R. Gignac purchase 12,500 shares at $3.68 each, increasing his stake in the company to approximately $2.37 million.

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Barrington Research upgraded the stock from a market perform rating to an outperform rating. The stock had previously closed at $4.13, but opened at $4.38. Barrington Research now has a $6.50 price target on the stock. Gray Media shares last traded at $4.95, with a volume of 1,245,428 shares.

GTN has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gray Media from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Gray Media from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Gray Media from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gray Media has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey R. Gignac acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.68 per share, with a total value of $46,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 644,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,372,124.32. The trade was a 1.98% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 15.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Gray Media by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 49,262 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 11,678 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Gray Media by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 91,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 14,976 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Gray Media by 17.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,544 shares of the company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 9,358 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Gray Media by 29.4% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 107,400 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 24,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in Gray Media in the second quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gray Media Stock Up 19.5%

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.48. The company has a market capitalization of $501.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.15.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $772.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $765.16 million. Gray Media had a net margin of 5.64% and a return on equity of 10.26%. Gray Media's revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gray Media Inc. will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media 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.

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