TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGNA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of TEGNA by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 317,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after buying an additional 79,900 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in TEGNA by 60.4% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 37,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 14,094 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in TEGNA by 20.5% in the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 702,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,773,000 after acquiring an additional 119,690 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in TEGNA in the second quarter worth approximately $5,504,000. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TEGNA in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,298,000. 92.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TEGNA Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE TGNA opened at $18.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. TEGNA has a 52-week low of $14.87 and a 52-week high of $21.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.13.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $650.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $658.28 million. TEGNA had a return on equity of 12.50% and a net margin of 11.97%.TEGNA’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that TEGNA will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. TEGNA’s payout ratio is currently 23.58%.

TEGNA Company Profile

TEGNA Inc is a leading U.S. broadcast and digital media company that was formed as a spin-off from Gannett Co, Inc in June 2015. The company’s primary operations include the ownership and operation of local television stations, digital publishing platforms and marketing solutions designed to serve both national advertisers and local businesses. Through its portfolio of media assets, TEGNA delivers news, information and entertainment across multiple platforms, including over-the-air broadcasts, cable and satellite distribution, streaming services and proprietary websites and mobile apps.

TEGNA owns and operates approximately 60 television stations in 51 markets, reaching nearly 40 percent of U.S.