TEGNA Bumps Up Quarterly Dividend By 36%

TEGNA Inc. increased its quarterly cash dividend by 36% to $0.095 per share. Notably, the revised dividend reflects an increase of $0.10 per share on an annual basis.

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TEGNA (TGNA) announced that the new dividend will be paid on July 1 to shareholders of record as of June 4.

The company’s annual dividend of $0.38 per share now reflects a dividend yield of 2.04%.

TEGNA CEO Dave Lougee commented, “The strength of our business, improved durability of our cash flows, and continued commitment to prudent expense management drove the decision to increase our quarterly dividend, which will result in a significant increase from our previous dividend payment.”

Earlier this month, TEGNA reported 4Q results. The company’s 4Q adjusted earnings more than doubled on a year-over-year basis to $1.16 per share and outpaced Street estimates of $1.12. Total revenues jumped 35% to $938 million and exceeded analysts’ expectations of $927.67 million. (See TEGNA stock analysis on TipRanks)

Looking ahead, TEGNA reiterated first quarter and full-year 2021 guidance. For 1Q, revenue growth is expected to be at the high-end of the guidance range of mid-single-digits. The outlook includes high-single-digit year-over-year advertising and marketing services growth.

For 2021, subscription revenue growth in the mid to high-teens is forecasted.

On March 2, Barrington analyst James Goss reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $20 (7.2% upside potential).

Goss believes “TEGNA benefits from its positioning in many of the nation’s largest broadcast markets, as well as from creative programming efforts.”

TEGNA shares have exploded 74.6% over the past year, while the stock still scores a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 3 unanimous Buys. That’s alongside an average analyst price target of $20.67, which implies 10.8% upside potential to current levels.

What’s more, TEGNA scores a “Perfect 10” from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.