Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $16.53, but opened at $16.96. Sinclair shares last traded at $16.60, with a volume of 47,879 shares traded.

Specifically, Chairman David D. Smith bought 17,902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $294,487.90. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 1,082,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,811,582.95. The trade was a 1.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 4,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.44 per share, with a total value of $75,887.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 972,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,983,050.20. The trade was a 0.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Sinclair news, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 61,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.79 per share, for a total transaction of $972,521.89. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 962,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,204,996.29. This represents a 6.83 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

Sinclair Trading Up 1.9 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.11 and a beta of 1.50.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. Analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Sinclair during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Sinclair during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Sinclair in the 3rd quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Sinclair by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.