National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Share Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $3.51 and traded as high as $4.02. National CineMedia shares last traded at $3.95, with a volume of 379,105 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NCMI shares. Wedbush decreased their price target on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.38.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.51. The company has a market capitalization of $370.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.88 and a beta of 1.38.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.03. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.80% and a negative net margin of 3.47%.The business had revenue of $34.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.92 million. As a group, analysts forecast that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is currently -133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In other news, insider Maria Vg Woods sold 12,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.77, for a total value of $45,458.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 163,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $615,120.74. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 145,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of National CineMedia by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 55,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,142 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC raised its stake in National CineMedia by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 17,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 4,246 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in National CineMedia by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in National CineMedia by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 124,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

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.