National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush cut their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. B. Riley Financial cut their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barrington Research cut their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.38.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NCMI opened at $2.80 on Friday. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $2.78 and a 1 year high of $5.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.35 and a 200-day moving average of $3.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.58 million, a P/E ratio of -31.11 and a beta of 1.43.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.03. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 3.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.80%. The company had revenue of $34.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.92 million.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is -133.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total value of $36,680.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 143,097 shares in the company, valued at $435,014.88. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in National CineMedia by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 488,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 182,548 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in National CineMedia in the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in National CineMedia by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 683,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 120,079 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in National CineMedia by 511.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 93,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 77,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in National CineMedia in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Company Profile

National CineMedia, Inc is a leading U.S. out-of-home media company specializing in cinema advertising. The firm operates a proprietary network that delivers high-impact advertising content to moviegoers across a broad footprint of theaters, offering brands a targeted and immersive way to engage audiences in a captive, distraction-free environment.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, National CineMedia began as a joint venture among several major exhibition chains.