Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 88,932 Shares of TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) by 217.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 129,912 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 88,932 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in TEGNA were worth $2,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TGNA. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in TEGNA during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of TEGNA by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,741 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in TEGNA by 247.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on TGNA shares. StockNews.com lowered TEGNA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total value of $410,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 154,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,718.80. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

TEGNA Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGNA opened at $18.65 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.71 and its 200 day moving average is $15.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.59 and a beta of 0.49. TEGNA Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.35 and a 52-week high of $19.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.11. TEGNA had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 16.75%. The firm had revenue of $806.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.67%.

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.