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

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total value of $36,680.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 143,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $435,014.88. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,218,288 shares during the period. Lunate Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,740,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 34.2% in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,519,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,382,000 after acquiring an additional 12,172 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 30.1% in 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. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NCMI opened at $3.14 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.59. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $2.78 and a 1-year high of $5.55. The firm has a market cap of $294.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.89 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.92 million.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -133.33%.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.