StockNews.com Downgrades Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) to Sell

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on GTN. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Gray Television from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Gray Television from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.17.

Gray Television Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Gray Television stock opened at $4.54 on Monday. Gray Television has a 1-year low of $2.91 and a 1-year high of $7.28. The stock has a market cap of $461.01 million, a P/E ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.97. 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 (NYSE:GTN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.26. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The company had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Gray Television will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Lee Boger sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.85, for a total value of $61,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 55,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,085.95. The trade was a 22.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 15.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the 1st quarter worth about $1,037,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Gray Television by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 137,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 13,123 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gray Television by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 496,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 74,696 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gray Television by 292.4% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 205,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 152,766 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gray Television in the 1st quarter worth about $2,876,000. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

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.