Why TEGNA (TGNA) Shares Are Falling Today - Tegna (NYSE:TGNA)

Benchmark analyst Daniel L. Kurnos had a Buy rating on TEGNA Inc TGNA with a $24.00 price target.
After numerous back and forths, the FCC formalized why this seemingly clean deal between Standard General LP (private) and TEGNA has not been allowed to proceed, referring the case to an administrative law judge and effectively killing the transaction.
It seems evident upon reading between the lines of the order that the FCC both believes that something illicit is going on with the deal structure and that Standard General effectively lied in their responses, bringing up the non-negotiable topic of candor.
The analyst has said publicly for a while now that the deal outcome was a coin flip, suggesting that heavy deal-oriented investor ownership could see a depressed price below $17 per share if it broke.
There will likely be some initial rebound value at after-market prices closer to $16, or ~7x 2022/2023E consensus EBITDA (if consensus is accurate, which seems unlikely).
The analyst also thinks the bleed-through to the other broadcasters is likely to be somewhat self-contained, albeit reinforcing some of the challenges of getting station deals done in this environment.
Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall maintained Tegna with an Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $24 to $20.
The FCC's move suggests that a deal for TGNA will break, leading to the target revision.
TEGNA reported fourth-quarter revenue growth of 18% year-on-year to $917.1 million, missing the consensus of $963.2 million.
Adjusted EPS of $0.98 missed the consensus of $1.13.
The company reported strong growth in political revenue despite advertising and marketing services (AMS) revenue declines resulting from political displacement and macroeconomic headwinds.
Price Action: TGNA shares traded lower by 21.01% at $17.25 on the last check Monday.

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TEGNA Analyst Expects Going Private Deal To Fall Flat After FCC Referred The Case To The Administrative Judge

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