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

Key Points

• Gray Media shares rose from a prior close of $4.92 to open at $5.21 after the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, equivalent to a 6.0% annual yield. Its 110.34% dividend payout ratio is higher than its reported earnings.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy, two Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $7.88.
• In its latest quarter, Gray Media’s revenue grew 29.8% year over year to $972 million, beating estimates, while EPS of $0.66 missed the $0.86 consensus.

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $4.92, but opened at $5.21. Gray Media shares last traded at $5.3450, with a volume of 713,892 shares. The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Gray Media's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GTN shares. Wall Street Zen cut Gray Media from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered Gray Media from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Gray Media from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.88.

Gray Media Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $550.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $4.65 and its 200-day moving average is $4.59.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.20). Gray Media had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 3.00%. The firm had revenue of $972.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $955.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Gray Media Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Gray Media in the second quarter valued at $28,756,000. Capital Management Corp VA lifted its holdings in Gray Media by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 7,092,788 shares of the company's stock worth $31,918,000 after buying an additional 22,119 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gray Media in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,789,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Gray Media by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,514,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,847,000 after buying an additional 10,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Gray Media by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,168,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,073,000 after buying an additional 16,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

About Gray Media

Gray Media, formerly known as Gray Television, is a multimedia company that owns and operates local television stations and related digital media properties in markets across the United States. Its stations provide local news, weather, sports, public affairs and entertainment programming, while also distributing content through websites, mobile platforms and other digital channels.

The company's broadcast portfolio includes affiliates of major networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and The CW, as well as independent and specialty stations.

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