Jeffrey R. Gignac Buys 12,500 Shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Stock

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) CFO Jeffrey R. Gignac acquired 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.68 per share, with a total value of $46,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 644,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,372,124.32. The trade was a 1.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Gray Television Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE GTN traded down $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,030,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,916. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $398.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.16. Gray Television, Inc. has a one year low of $2.91 and a one year high of $6.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.82.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.26. The business had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $772.71 million. Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Gray Television, Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gray Television's payout ratio is currently 13.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gray Television from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Gray Television from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $6.17.

Institutional Trading of Gray Television

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTN. Invst LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television during the first quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Gray Television by 7.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 464,859 shares of the company's stock worth $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 32,173 shares during the period. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Gray Television during the first quarter worth approximately $820,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of Gray Television by 21.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 164,086 shares of the company's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 29,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

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.