Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,380,000 shares, a decrease of 18.0% from the March 15th total of 4,120,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Gray Television

In related news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total transaction of $61,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,085.95. The trade was a 22.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 15.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Management Corp VA boosted its position in Gray Television by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 5,763,336 shares of the company's stock worth $18,155,000 after acquiring an additional 355,067 shares during the last quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gray Television by 132.1% during 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. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,009,896 shares of the company's stock worth $10,773,000 after purchasing an additional 36,541 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gray Television by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,971,374 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,568,000 after purchasing an additional 57,481 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Gray Television by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,161,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,660,000 after purchasing an additional 400,274 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Gray Television from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $4.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gray Television currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $6.33.

Gray Television Stock Performance

Shares of GTN stock remained flat at $3.40 during trading hours on Friday. 736,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,415,628. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $3.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.14. Gray Television has a twelve month low of $2.91 and a twelve month high of $7.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.25 million, a PE ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.08.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Gray Television will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.41%. Gray Television's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.61%.

Gray Television 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.