TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,140,000 shares, a decrease of 37.5% from the December 31st total of 9,820,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

TEGNA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:TGNA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.23. 65,963 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,320. TEGNA has a 1 year low of $12.35 and a 1 year high of $19.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.50.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $806.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.72 million. TEGNA had a net margin of 16.75% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that TEGNA will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TEGNA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in TEGNA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of TEGNA by 59.0% during the 4th 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. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TEGNA in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in TEGNA by 455.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of TEGNA by 20.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of TEGNA in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of TEGNA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.75.

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.