TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Trading 6.5% Higher – What’s Next?

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)’s share price traded up 6.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.71. 1,039,279 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 1,190,181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on TGNA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of TEGNA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TEGNA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

TEGNA Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by ($0.04). TEGNA had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 16.75%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGNA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in TEGNA by 80.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in TEGNA by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of TEGNA by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of TEGNA by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 23,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. 92.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TEGNA

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.