Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 68,795 Shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) by 20.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 411,449 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,795 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Gray Television were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Gray Television during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Gray Television by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 212,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 6,652 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Gray Television by 12.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 95,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,234 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gray Television by 9.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,662,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,786,000 after purchasing an additional 506,106 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Gray Television by 1.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,307,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,262,000 after purchasing an additional 23,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Television Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GTN opened at $4.21 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.37. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $419.11 million, a P/E ratio of 2.80, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 1.47. Gray Television, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.95 and a 52 week high of $10.07.

Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $967.49 million. Gray Television had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 5.69%. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.57) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Gray Television, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Television Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Gray Television’s payout ratio is 21.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GTN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Gray Television from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Gray Television from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Gray Television from $6.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Guggenheim cut their target price 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, Barrington Research upgraded shares of Gray Television to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.