Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

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) shares gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $4.13, but opened at $4.38. Gray Media shares last traded at $4.95, with a volume of 1,245,428 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gray Media's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GTN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gray Media from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $9.00 price target (up previously from $7.00) on shares of Gray Media in a research note on Monday. Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Media from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $6.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gray Media from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $6.88.

Gray Media Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.21. The firm has a market cap of $598.07 million, a P/E ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.20.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Gray Media had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 5.64%. The business had revenue of $772.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $765.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gray Media Inc. will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gray Media

In other news, CFO Jeffrey R. Gignac purchased 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.68 per share, with a total value of $46,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 644,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,372,124.32. This trade represents a 1.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 15.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Media

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTN. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its position in shares of Gray Media by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 6,867,026 shares of the company's stock worth $29,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,690 shares during the period. Miller Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Gray Media 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 purchasing an additional 1,926,330 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Gray Media by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 2,017,748 shares of the company's stock worth $8,740,000 after purchasing an additional 281,566 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gray Media by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,956,635 shares of the company's stock worth $8,453,000 after purchasing an additional 734,085 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Gray Media by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,376,307 shares of the company's stock worth $6,235,000 after purchasing an additional 134,631 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.