Barrington Research Has Pessimistic View of NCMI Q2 Earnings

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) – Stock analysts at Barrington Research cut their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for shares of National CineMedia in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 7th. Barrington Research analyst P. Sholl now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of ($0.07) per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.04). Barrington Research has a “Outperform” rating and a $7.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for National CineMedia’s current full-year earnings is ($0.12) per share. Barrington Research also issued estimates for National CineMedia’s Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.06) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.14) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.07 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.08 EPS.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.04). National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. The company had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.13 million.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, National CineMedia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NCMI opened at $5.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $482.62 million, a PE ratio of -20.28 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.45. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $4.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.60.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio is presently -52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.18 per share, with a total value of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,358,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,452,000 after acquiring an additional 232,702 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the first quarter worth approximately $142,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the first quarter worth approximately $63,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 165,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 64,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 66.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 5,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

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.