Verition Fund Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) by 64.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,480 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Gray Television were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Television during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Gray Television by 733.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 6,554 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Gray Television during the third quarter worth about $56,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the second quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gray Television news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of Gray Television stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total transaction of $656,443.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,256.44. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gray Television Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GTN opened at $3.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.90 million, a P/E ratio of 2.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.10. Gray Television, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.27 and a 52-week high of $10.07.

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). The firm had revenue of $950.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.49 million. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. Gray Television’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.57) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gray Television, Inc. will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.73%. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barrington Research upgraded Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gray Television presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.67.

About Gray Television

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.