Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.10.

Sinclair Stock Up 0.3%

Sinclair stock opened at $15.94 on Monday. Sinclair has a 12 month low of $11.13 and a 12 month high of $18.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -4.83 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.61.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($2.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.78) by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $776.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $774.79 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 6.14% and a positive return on equity of 63.89%. Sinclair’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 30,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.09 per share, with a total value of $426,870.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 728,986 shares in the company, valued at $10,271,412.74. This trade represents a 4.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 458,530 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,392. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Sinclair during the first quarter valued at $1,608,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Sinclair during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,539,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sinclair by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 717,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,422,000 after purchasing an additional 282,400 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sinclair by 38.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 167,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,670,000 after acquiring an additional 46,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Sinclair by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.