Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock: Insider Robert Smith Sells 150,000 Shares

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Director Robert Smith sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.64, for a total value of $2,046,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $682,000. This trade represents a 75.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBGI opened at $15.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.03. Sinclair, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.83 and a 1 year high of $17.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.33. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 4.00% and a net margin of 2.84%. The firm had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.02) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBGI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sinclair from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sinclair presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sinclair during the third quarter valued at $2,256,000. Converium Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,748,000 after acquiring an additional 144,674 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after acquiring an additional 113,788 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 216.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 104,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 71,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 82.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 38,962 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc., formerly known as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a U.S. media company focused on local television broadcasting. Its stations provide local news, sports and entertainment programming, often alongside content from major television networks. The company also operates national television brands, including Tennis Channel and the multicast networks Comet, Charge! and TBD. Its businesses include producing and distributing programming and selling advertising across its television and digital platforms.