National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NCMI. 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. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NCMI opened at $3.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $354.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.00 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $2.78 and a 1 year high of $5.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $3.50 and a 200-day moving average of $3.50.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.26) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.92 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 3.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.80%.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is presently -133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National CineMedia news, insider Maria Vg Woods sold 12,058 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.77, for a total value of $45,458.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 163,162 shares in the company, valued at $615,120.74. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NCMI. Zazove Associates LLC boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 78.3% during the first quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 458,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after buying an additional 201,564 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in National CineMedia by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 74,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 20,928 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 1,820,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 691,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.