Short Interest in Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Decreases By 7.9%

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,190,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the October 15th total of 4,550,000 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Gray Television Stock Down 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GTN traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $4.45. 880,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,982. The firm has a market cap of $443.52 million, a PE ratio of 2.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. Gray Television has a fifty-two week low of $3.95 and a fifty-two week high of $10.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.40.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.08). Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The firm had revenue of $950.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.57) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gray Television will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.19%. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GTN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barrington Research raised shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.67.

Institutional Trading of Gray Television

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GTN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Gray Television during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Gray Television by 733.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 6,554 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Gray Television during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Gray Television during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

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.