National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.60.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NCMI shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barrington Research reduced their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $7.00 to $6.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 9,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.44, for a total value of $40,133.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 118,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,351.12. This trade represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NCMI. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in National CineMedia during the 1st quarter worth about $797,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 64.1% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 165,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 64,538 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 5.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,358,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,452,000 after purchasing an additional 232,702 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 21.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 683,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 120,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the first quarter valued at approximately $142,000. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

National CineMedia Trading Down 0.3%

NCMI stock opened at $3.89 on Wednesday. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $3.81 and a 1-year high of $7.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.41 and its 200-day moving average is $4.76. The firm has a market cap of $365.00 million, a P/E ratio of -18.52 and a beta of 1.83.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.05. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 3.51% and a negative net margin of 8.62%.The business had revenue of $63.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.23 million. National CineMedia has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is currently -80.00%.

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.