Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Sinclair from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.70.

Sinclair Stock Up 2.0 %

SBGI stock opened at $14.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.07 and its 200 day moving average is $15.62. The stock has a market cap of $971.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.43 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73. Sinclair has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $18.45.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.62. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 6.14% and a positive return on equity of 63.89%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 38,410 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.01 per share, with a total value of $538,124.10. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 645,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,044,351.64. The trade was a 6.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 46.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sinclair during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Sinclair by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 232,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after buying an additional 11,792 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,605,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Sinclair by 103.2% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 26,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 13,390 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sinclair during the third quarter valued at approximately $822,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sinclair Company Profile

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.