National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Stock Rating Lowered by B. Riley

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was downgraded by equities researchers at B. Riley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $6.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.42% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NCMI. StockNews.com cut National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.20.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of National CineMedia stock opened at $5.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.38. National CineMedia has a 12 month low of $4.12 and a 12 month high of $7.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.89 million, a P/E ratio of -20.44 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.13 million. As a group, analysts predict that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in National CineMedia by 5.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 39,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in National CineMedia by 21.4% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in National CineMedia by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in National CineMedia by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in National CineMedia by 502.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 4,237 shares during the period. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.