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

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $4.8125.

NCMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush set a $5.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barrington Research set a $4.25 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Maria Woods sold 12,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.77, for a total transaction of $45,458.66. Following the sale, the insider owned 163,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $615,120.74. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in National CineMedia by 682.4% in the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 278,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 242,970 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in National CineMedia by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,220,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,237,000 after acquiring an additional 444,984 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of National CineMedia during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,653,000. Zazove Associates LLC raised its position in shares of National CineMedia by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 458,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after acquiring an additional 201,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Price Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $2.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $2.16 and a fifty-two week high of $5.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.39. The firm has a market cap of $232.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.55 and a beta of 1.37.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $58.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.34 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.31% and a negative net margin of 3.05%. As a group, analysts forecast that National CineMedia will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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.