National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.29% and a negative net margin of 4.32%.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

Shares of NCMI traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $3.38. 217,196 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 413,322. The firm has a market cap of $315.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. National CineMedia has a 12 month low of $2.92 and a 12 month high of $5.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $3.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.71.

National CineMedia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is currently -120.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total transaction of $36,680.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 143,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,014.88. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 9,523,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218,288 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 34.2% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,151,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,376 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,003,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 463,112 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 17.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,774,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,003,000 after acquiring an additional 266,032 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 217.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 280,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 192,031 shares during the period. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NCMI. Wedbush cut their price objective on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised National CineMedia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on National CineMedia from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, National CineMedia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $5.38.

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.