Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Boosts Stake in National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) by 510.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in National CineMedia were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $669,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in National CineMedia by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 7,218 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in National CineMedia by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 65,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 9,147 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in National CineMedia by 3.1% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Price Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $5.95 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $566.50 million, a P/E ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.75. National CineMedia, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.12 and a 12-month high of $7.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. The firm had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.77 million. Equities analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on NCMI shares. Wedbush raised shares of National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 10,250,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,483,691.52. The trade was a 3.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $154,560.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.