Short Interest in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Drops By 37.5%

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,140,000 shares, a decline of 37.5% from the December 31st total of 9,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

TEGNA Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE TGNA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.23. The company had a trading volume of 65,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. TEGNA has a twelve month low of $12.35 and a twelve month high of $19.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.40 and its 200-day moving average is $16.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.52.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.11. TEGNA had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm had revenue of $806.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TEGNA will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGNA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised TEGNA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 513.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 181,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,526,000 after purchasing an additional 151,656 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of TEGNA by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 22,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 5,704 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of TEGNA by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 104,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 36,687 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of TEGNA by 10.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 156,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,616 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in TEGNA by 395.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 930,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,974,000 after purchasing an additional 743,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

About TEGNA

TEGNA Inc, a media company, provides broadcast advertising and marketing products and services for businesses. The company operates 47 television stations in 39 markets of the United States that produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment. It offers local and national non-political advertising; political advertising; production of programming from third parties; production of advertising materials; and digital marketing services, as well as advertising services on the stations' Websites, tablets, and mobile products.