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

Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,620,000 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the October 31st total of 4,190,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Gray Television Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GTN traded up $0.10 on Monday, reaching $4.37. 1,350,544 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,275,415. 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 has a twelve month low of $3.95 and a twelve month high of $10.07. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.16 and a 200-day moving average of $5.24. The company has a market capitalization of $435.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.93, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 1.47.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.57) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Gray Television will post 2.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.32%. Gray Television’s dividend payout ratio is 21.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GTN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Gray Television from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 research report on Monday, November 11th. Barrington Research upgraded Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark lowered their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Television

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Gray Television by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,786,000 after acquiring an additional 506,106 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Gray Television by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 91,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Gray Television in the first quarter valued at about $243,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gray Television by 733.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 6,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Gray Television by 10.2% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 79,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 7,358 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.