Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Stock Position Raised by State Street Corp

State Street Corp increased its stake in Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,009,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,541 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Gray Television were worth $10,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gray Television by 9.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 61,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 5,555 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Gray Television during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the second quarter valued at about $84,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Gray Television by 2.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 139,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in shares of Gray Television during the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Television Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE GTN opened at $3.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Gray Television, Inc. has a one year low of $2.91 and a one year high of $10.07. The firm has a market cap of $310.96 million, a PE ratio of 2.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.36.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.08). Gray Television had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $950.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $967.49 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.57) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gray Television, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is presently 21.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,256.44. This trade represents a 22.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 13.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GTN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research upgraded Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark decreased their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.