National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NCMI opened at $5.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.45. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $4.12 and a 1 year high of $7.60. The company has a market cap of $482.62 million, a P/E ratio of -20.28 and a beta of 2.12.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.13 million. Research analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.18 per share, with a total value of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 476,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 7,130 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 12,281 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in National CineMedia by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 65,424 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.