UBS Group AG Has $2.77 Million Position in Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) by 46.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 180,880 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,616 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Sinclair were worth $2,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Sinclair by 7.7% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,069,000 after acquiring an additional 302,160 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Sinclair by 890.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 275,674 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sinclair by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,195,000 after acquiring an additional 220,623 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Sinclair by 46.4% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 668,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,096,000 after acquiring an additional 212,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Sinclair during the second quarter worth $2,292,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on Sinclair in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sinclair currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $157,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 284,525 shares in the company, valued at $4,467,042.50. This trade represents a 3.40% 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. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total value of $296,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,853.70. This represents a 47.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498. 41.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sinclair Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.86 on Tuesday. Sinclair, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.89 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $14.33 and a 200-day moving average of $14.91.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($2.30) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.11%.

Sinclair Company Profile

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.