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

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.20.

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

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.47. The stock has a market cap of $997.39 million, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.04. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $11.89 and a twelve month high of $17.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.96. Sinclair had a net margin of 2.00% and a negative return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($2.30) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sinclair will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is 111.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,195,000 after purchasing an additional 220,623 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,778,000 after purchasing an additional 373,566 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 7.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after purchasing an additional 113,788 shares during the last quarter. Converium Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,748,000 after purchasing an additional 144,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 916,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,026,000 after purchasing an additional 12,111 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.