Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stock Holdings in Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its position in shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,193,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,451 shares during the period. Sinclair makes up approximately 0.6% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.06% of Sinclair worth $64,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 220,623 shares in the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA raised its holdings in Sinclair by 6.2% during the third quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 1,655,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,991,000 after purchasing an additional 97,226 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sinclair by 9.4% during the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,191,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,989,000 after purchasing an additional 102,759 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 212,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 275,674 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SBGI shares. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a research report 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Insider Activity at Sinclair

In other news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total value of $51,297.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 280,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,923,516.41. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $296,230.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,027 shares in the company, valued at $327,853.70. This represents a 47.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.60% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Stock Performance

Shares of SBGI opened at $14.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.90. Sinclair, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.89 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio 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.