Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $13.81, but opened at $14.53. Sinclair shares last traded at $14.4350, with a volume of 12,666 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SBGI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.20.

Sinclair Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.47. The firm has a market cap of $997.39 million, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.04.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. The business had revenue of $807.00 million during 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%.Sinclair’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.30) EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.11%.

Insider Activity at Sinclair

In related news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $255,340.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 at this hyperlink. 42.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Madison Avenue Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Sinclair in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,918,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sinclair by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 906,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,875,000 after purchasing an additional 534,573 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,778,000 after purchasing an additional 373,566 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Sinclair by 890.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 275,674 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sinclair by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,195,000 after buying an additional 220,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Company Profile

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.