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

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,105,295 shares, a decrease of 12.7% from the December 31st total of 10,435,495 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,324,741 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,324,741 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.9 days. Approximately 5.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TGNA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TEGNA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.75.

TEGNA Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:TGNA opened at $19.21 on Tuesday. TEGNA has a 12-month low of $14.87 and a 12-month high of $21.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.56.

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

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of TEGNA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGNA. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in TEGNA by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,008,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,944,000 after acquiring an additional 82,140 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 6,587.9% during the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,140,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,170,000 after buying an additional 4,078,275 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in TEGNA by 5,517.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,242,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,340,000 after acquiring an additional 3,184,505 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in TEGNA by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,410,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,400,000 after buying an additional 72,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in TEGNA by 1.3% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,399,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,050,000 after purchasing an additional 30,229 shares in the last quarter. 92.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TEGNA

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.