Gray Media (GTN) Competitors

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) and Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Do analysts recommend GTN or NXST?

Gray Media currently has a consensus price target of $6.88, suggesting a potential upside of 17.32%. Nexstar Media Group has a consensus price target of $225.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.72%. Given Gray Media's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Gray Media is more favorable than Nexstar Media Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gray Media	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Nexstar Media Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media favor GTN or NXST?

In the previous week, Nexstar Media Group had 9 more articles in the media than Gray Media. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Nexstar Media Group and 9 mentions for Gray Media. Nexstar Media Group's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Gray Media's score of 0.88 indicating that Nexstar Media Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Gray Media	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Nexstar Media Group	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, GTN or NXST?

Gray Media has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nexstar Media Group has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is GTN or NXST more profitable?

Nexstar Media Group has a net margin of 11.90% compared to Gray Media's net margin of 5.64%. Nexstar Media Group's return on equity of 28.40% beat Gray Media's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gray Media	5.64%	10.31%	2.17%
Nexstar Media Group	11.90%	28.40%	5.52%

Is GTN or NXST a better dividend stock?

Gray Media pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Nexstar Media Group pays an annual dividend of $7.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Gray Media pays out 21.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nexstar Media Group pays out 38.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Nexstar Media Group has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Gray Media is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, GTN or NXST?

Nexstar Media Group has higher revenue and earnings than Gray Media. Gray Media is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nexstar Media Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gray Media	$3.64B	0.16	$375M	$1.51	3.88
Nexstar Media Group	$5.41B	1.16	$722M	$19.26	10.75

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of GTN or NXST?

78.6% of Gray Media shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.3% of Nexstar Media Group shares are held by institutional investors. 15.2% of Gray Media shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Nexstar Media Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Nexstar Media Group beats Gray Media on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.