National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) EVP Sells $36,680.64 in Stock

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total transaction of $36,680.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 143,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,014.88. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

National CineMedia Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NCMI traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $3.00. The stock had a trading volume of 658,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,800. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. National CineMedia, Inc. has a one year low of $2.92 and a one year high of $6.18. The company has a market capitalization of $279.84 million, a P/E ratio of -30.00 and a beta of 1.40.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.29% and a negative net margin of 4.32%. As a group, research analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National CineMedia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is -120.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NCMI. Zacks Research upgraded National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barrington Research dropped their price target on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Benchmark cut their price objective on National CineMedia from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of National CineMedia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.38.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in National CineMedia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc is a leading U.S. out-of-home media company specializing in cinema advertising. The firm operates a proprietary network that delivers high-impact advertising content to moviegoers across a broad footprint of theaters, offering brands a targeted and immersive way to engage audiences in a captive, distraction-free environment.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, National CineMedia began as a joint venture among several major exhibition chains.