Strs Ohio Acquires 28,000 Shares of TEGNA Inc. $TGNA

Strs Ohio increased its stake in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,000 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in TEGNA were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in TEGNA by 5,517.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,242,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,184,505 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TEGNA during the 3rd quarter worth about $23,298,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TEGNA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,426,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in TEGNA by 1,790.0% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 789,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,232,000 after buying an additional 747,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in TEGNA by 247.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 940,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,755,000 after buying an additional 669,255 shares in the last quarter. 92.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TEGNA Stock Performance

Shares of TGNA opened at $18.91 on Wednesday. TEGNA Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.87 and a 52 week high of $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.13.

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

TEGNA Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGNA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered TEGNA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.75.

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.