Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Director Daniel Keith Sells 17,989 Shares

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Director Daniel Keith sold 17,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $235,655.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 49,038 shares in the company, valued at $642,397.80. This represents a 26.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Sinclair Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Sinclair stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 410,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,421. Sinclair, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.89 and a 52 week high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $931.78 million, a PE ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 3.53% and a negative return on equity of 64.27%. Sinclair’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Sinclair’s payout ratio is currently -59.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Sinclair by 142.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sinclair in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 175.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sinclair during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sinclair during the second quarter valued at $54,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SBGI. Benchmark upped their price target on Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings cut Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

About Sinclair

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.