Short Interest in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Grows By 16.9%

TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 9,544,684 shares, a growth of 16.9% from the February 12th total of 8,167,111 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,533,016 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 5.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,533,016 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TGNA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of TEGNA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded TEGNA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TEGNA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

TEGNA Price Performance

Shares of TGNA opened at $20.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 2.28. TEGNA has a fifty-two week low of $14.87 and a fifty-two week high of $21.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.12.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.05. TEGNA had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 8.11%.The company had revenue of $706.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.29 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TEGNA will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. TEGNA’s payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of TEGNA by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,176,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,830,000 after acquiring an additional 116,965 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in TEGNA by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of TEGNA by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 22,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 3,465 shares in the last quarter. Verdad Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of TEGNA in the fourth quarter valued at $48,719,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of TEGNA during the 4th quarter worth $6,322,000. 92.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.