Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

SBGI has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research raised Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Sinclair from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.40.

Sinclair Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $14.23 on Friday. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $11.83 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.15 and a 200-day moving average of $14.03.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.21 million. Sinclair had a net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 3.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sinclair will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Sinclair’s payout ratio is currently 72.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Sinclair by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after purchasing an additional 113,788 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA raised its stake in Sinclair by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 1,437,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,247,000 after purchasing an additional 28,902 shares during the period. Converium Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 15.8% in the first quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,748,000 after purchasing an additional 144,674 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 4.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 774,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,833,000 after purchasing an additional 33,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 216.2% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 71,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc is a diversified media company that owns and operates local television stations across the United States. Its broadcast portfolio includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and other network-affiliated stations, as well as independent stations. Sinclair’s local media operations produce news, weather, sports, and community-focused programming for viewers in markets throughout the country.

The company also develops and distributes national and regional content through cable networks, digital platforms, and streaming services.