UBS Group AG Buys 57,616 Shares of Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.26% of Sinclair worth $2,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SBGI. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 7.7% in the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,069,000 after acquiring an additional 302,160 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 890.3% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 275,674 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,195,000 after acquiring an additional 220,623 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 46.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 668,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,096,000 after acquiring an additional 212,040 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,292,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sinclair Price Performance

Shares of SBGI stock opened at $13.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.09. Sinclair, Inc. has a one year low of $11.89 and a one year high of $17.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.Sinclair’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.30) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sinclair

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price objective on Sinclair in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Benchmark increased their price objective on Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

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.