TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02), Zacks reports. TEGNA had a net margin of 14.99% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $650.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis.

TEGNA Price Performance

TGNA stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.09. 101,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,033,242. TEGNA has a 52-week low of $14.87 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.51.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TEGNA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

Institutional Trading of TEGNA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TGNA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 81.6% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in TEGNA by 1,507.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of TEGNA in the 1st quarter worth $86,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of TEGNA by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in TEGNA during the first quarter valued at about $183,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

TEGNA Company Profile

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.