National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Barrington Research lowered their price target on the stock from $8.25 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $6.35, but opened at $5.70. Barrington Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. National CineMedia shares last traded at $5.56, with a volume of 190,589 shares trading hands.

NCMI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $154,560.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at $436,085.37. The trade was a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in National CineMedia by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in National CineMedia by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in National CineMedia by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 476,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 7,130 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in National CineMedia by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 7,218 shares during the period. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National CineMedia Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $505.42 million, a PE ratio of -21.30 and a beta of 2.06.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. On average, research analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.