ITV (LON:ITV) to Repurchase 0 Outstanding Stock

Key Points

• ITV authorized a share repurchase plan for zero shares, meaning the announcement does not represent an active buyback program.
• ITV shares fell to GBX 74.25, while analysts maintained an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of GBX 87.50.
• The broadcaster reported quarterly earnings of GBX 2.20 per share; two insiders subsequently sold shares, while insiders collectively own 0.53% of the company.

ITV (LON:ITV - Get Free Report) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, July 31st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the broadcaster to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

ITV Stock Performance

ITV stock traded down GBX 1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching GBX 74.25. The company had a trading volume of 17,044,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,703,078. The firm has a market capitalization of £2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of -0.53 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 78.69 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 79.55. ITV has a fifty-two week low of GBX 65.70 and a fifty-two week high of GBX 87.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.72.

ITV (LON:ITV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The broadcaster reported GBX 2.20 earnings per share for the quarter. ITV had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 7.28%. Analysts anticipate that ITV will post 1120 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a GBX 90 price objective on shares of ITV in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of ITV to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from GBX 104 to GBX 85 in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 87.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ITV news, insider Chris Kennedy sold 396,282 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 78, for a total value of £309,099.96. Also, insider Carolyn McCall sold 652,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 78, for a total value of £508,843.14. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

ITV Company Profile

ITV is a producer, streamer and broadcaster, consisting of ITV Studios and Media & Entertainment (M&E). ITV Studios is a scaled global creator, owner and distributor of high-quality TV content, producing some of the most successful shows in the world. It operates in 13 countries, across 60+ labels and is diversified by genre, geography and customer in the key creative markets around the world. Media & Entertainment is the largest commercial streamer and broadcaster. Through M&E, we make brilliant British-focused content available on ITVX - our free, advertiser-funded streaming service - alongside our free-to-air linear TV channels.

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