TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) Shares Sold by Sessa Capital IM L.P.

Sessa Capital IM L.P. cut its holdings in TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA) by 33.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,184,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600,000 shares during the quarter. TEGNA accounts for 0.7% of Sessa Capital IM L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Sessa Capital IM L.P. owned about 0.72% of TEGNA worth $18,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in TEGNA by 2,898.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,806,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,521,000 after acquiring an additional 10,445,739 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of TEGNA by 29.5% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,024,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827,471 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of TEGNA by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,798,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,371,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,691 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in TEGNA by 395.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 930,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,974,000 after buying an additional 743,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in TEGNA by 757.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 662,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,453,000 after buying an additional 585,156 shares during the last quarter. 92.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on TGNA shares. Benchmark increased their target price on TEGNA from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised TEGNA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on TEGNA from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Lynn B. Trelstad sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $410,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,718.80. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

TEGNA Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of TEGNA stock opened at $18.49 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.04. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.49. TEGNA Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.35 and a 1-year high of $19.62.

TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $795.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that TEGNA Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TEGNA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. TEGNA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.67%.

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.