Short Interest in Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) Drops By 17.3%

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,697,024 shares, a decline of 17.3% from the March 31st total of 5,680,873 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,102,660 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gray Media

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Management Corp VA raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 6,149,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,761,000 after buying an additional 242,525 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 4.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,998,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,672,000 after buying an additional 251,419 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,188,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,113,000 after buying an additional 994,474 shares during the last quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC now owns 3,988,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,304,000 after buying an additional 430,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Gray Media by 43.6% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 3,236,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,758,000 after buying an additional 983,415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Gray Media Price Performance

Shares of Gray Media stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $5.68. 720,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,016,089. The stock has a market capitalization of $588.95 million, a P/E ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Gray Media has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $6.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.85.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $792.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $780.50 million. Gray Media had a negative net margin of 2.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Gray Media will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Gray Media in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.13.

Gray Media Company Profile

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) is a U.S.-based broadcasting and digital media company that owns and operates a portfolio of local television stations and associated digital platforms. The company’s core business centers on delivering local news, sports and entertainment programming through its network-affiliated broadcast outlets. In addition to traditional over-the-air distribution, Gray Media supports multi-platform video streaming and on-demand services for audiences across its markets.

Gray Media’s television stations carry network programming from major national broadcasters, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, and often feature locally produced news and public affairs content.