Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Sinclair in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Sinclair from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Sinclair from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Sinclair Stock Down 1.5 %

Sinclair stock opened at $14.40 on Thursday. Sinclair has a 1-year low of $11.13 and a 1-year high of $18.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market cap of $956.46 million, a PE ratio of -4.36 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In related news, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 30,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.09 per share, for a total transaction of $426,870.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 728,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,271,412.74. This trade represents a 4.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 46.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,605,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $822,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 378.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 42,887 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 31,015 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sinclair

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.