Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,770,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the November 30th total of 4,500,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark cut 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research raised shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim decreased 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

Gray Television Stock Up 6.1 %

Shares of GTN opened at $3.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.95 million, a P/E ratio of 2.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.36. Gray Television has a 12-month low of $2.91 and a 12-month high of $10.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

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

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.16%. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.33%.

Insider Activity at Gray Television

In related news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 509,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,225,256.44. This represents a 22.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 13.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Gray Television during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in Gray Television in the third quarter worth about $56,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Television in the second quarter worth about $58,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Gray Television during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Gray Television during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.