Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th.

Sinclair Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of SBGI stock opened at $13.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $998.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $11.89 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a net margin of 2.00% and a negative return on equity of 12.62%. Sinclair’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($2.30) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Sinclair will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Sinclair’s payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total transaction of $157,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 284,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,467,042.50. The trade was a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $296,230.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,853.70. The trade was a 47.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498. Corporate insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBGI. Madison Avenue Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Sinclair during the fourth quarter worth $13,918,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 906,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,875,000 after purchasing an additional 534,573 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,778,000 after purchasing an additional 373,566 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 7.7% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,069,000 after purchasing an additional 302,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 890.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 275,674 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sinclair Company Profile

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.

At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.