Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SBGI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on shares of Sinclair in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Sinclair Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBGI traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.24. 622,754 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,406. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.51. Sinclair has a one year low of $11.89 and a one year high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($2.30) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sinclair will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Sinclair’s payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,122 shares in the company, valued at $377,332.44. This trade represents a 40.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 42.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 869 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 29,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Sinclair by 142.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Sinclair by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 1,259 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sinclair

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.

At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.