Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Short Interest Down 7.3% in December

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,420,000 shares, a drop of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 4,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 5.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Gray Television Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Gray Television stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $3.31. 806,154 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,538,182. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $3.78 and its 200 day moving average is $4.75. The stock has a market cap of $329.41 million, a P/E ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.39. Gray Television has a 52-week low of $2.91 and a 52-week high of $10.07.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $950.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.57) earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Gray Television will post 3.06 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is currently 21.33%.

Insider Transactions at Gray Television

In related news, EVP Kevin Paul Latek sold 150,216 shares of Gray Television stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 22.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 13.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GTN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Gray Television by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 239,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Gray Television by 2.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 139,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Gray Television by 27.4% in the third quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 19,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 4,083 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Gray Television by 17.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 5,177 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 10.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 70,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 6,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GTN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lowered 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.67.

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.