Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.82), FiscalAI reports. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $840.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.91) earnings per share. Sinclair’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Sinclair’s conference call:

• Political advertising revenue rose 9% year over year to $59 million, and Sinclair raised its full-year political guidance to at least $375 million, citing strong early demand across competitive Senate, gubernatorial and House races.
• Sinclair increased full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $730 million-$760 million despite lower core advertising expectations, supported by high-margin political revenue, year-to-date outperformance and continued expense discipline.
• The company reduced debt by approximately $320 million during the quarter and an additional $25 million after quarter-end, lowering interest expense and leaving its nearest material maturity in December 2029.
• Core advertising revenue declined 3% as political spending crowded out inventory and fuel, tariff and cost-inflation concerns pressured advertisers; Sinclair cut its full-year core advertising outlook by $40 million at the midpoint.
• Management expects the anticipated removal of the FCC’s 39% national ownership cap to make large-scale broadcast M&A less risky, while record World Cup audiences and cross-platform sports offerings supported advertiser demand.

Sinclair Price Performance

SBGI traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.91. The stock had a trading volume of 488,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,983. Sinclair has a 1 year low of $11.89 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.05 and a 200 day moving average of $14.35. The company has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.06.

Insider Activity at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,332.44. The trade was a 40.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 42.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sinclair by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sinclair by 134.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 6,615 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Sinclair by 17.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sinclair by 5.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBGI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

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.