National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $7.39 and last traded at $7.34, with a volume of 310604 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NCMI. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target (up from $6.00) on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Monday. B. Riley increased their price target on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barrington Research increased their price target on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.06.

National CineMedia Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.78. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $637.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 2.07.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $62.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.20 million. National CineMedia had a net margin of 78.04% and a return on equity of 3.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 37.6% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,966,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,127,000 after purchasing an additional 537,822 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 270.0% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 208,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 152,251 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the second quarter worth about $427,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the second quarter worth about $979,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 38.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

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.