Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) Shares Down 8.8% – Here’s What Happened

Gray Media Inc. (NYSE:GTN) shares dropped 8.8% on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.31 and last traded at $5.3650. Approximately 838,263 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 1,355,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Key Stories Impacting Gray Media

Here are the key news stories impacting Gray Media this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark Co. raised its price target to $12 and set a “buy” rating, implying substantial upside from current levels. Analyst optimism can support buying interest and sentiment improvement. Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share (payable Mar 31; record Mar 13), yielding roughly 5.9% — attractive income for yield-focused investors and a cash-return signal. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped street estimates: adjusted EPS beat (reported loss smaller than expected) and revenue of $792M beat consensus. Management said results exceeded guidance and highlighted strong Q4 execution, which supports near-term fundamentals. Q4 Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcripts and slide deck are available (useful for detail on ad trends, political/seasonal impacts and cost actions). These materials can clarify drivers but don’t change the headline results. Call Transcript Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 revenue guidance was lowered to about $755M–$770M, below consensus (~$779M). Below-consensus forward guidance is the primary negative catalyst and explains downward pressure on the share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined ~24% year-over-year and prior-year EPS was much higher; the company is still navigating a post-election/advertising slowdown and structural pressures that may limit near-term upside. Zacks and other outlets highlighted the loss but noted the beat. Zacks Coverage

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on Gray Media from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised Gray Media from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Gray Media in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Gray Media from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gray Media from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Gray Media Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.05. The firm has a market cap of $528.32 million, a PE ratio of -3.64 and a beta of 0.89.

Gray Media (NYSE:GTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by $0.04. Gray Media had a negative return on equity of 2.50% and a negative net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $792.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 24.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Gray Media Inc. will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gray Media Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Gray Media’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 7.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 464,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 32,173 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gray Media in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gray Media by 215.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 49,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 33,672 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Gray Media by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 86,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 13,837 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Gray Media during the 2nd quarter valued at about $363,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gray Media

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.