Zacks Research Downgrades Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) to Strong Sell

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on SBGI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on Sinclair in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sinclair presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.20.

Sinclair Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.67 on Monday. Sinclair has a 12-month low of $12.46 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The firm has a market cap of $986.56 million, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.32.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.82). The company had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.99 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 1.60%.Sinclair’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sinclair will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $255,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,332.44. This represents a 40.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Sinclair by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Sinclair by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its position in Sinclair by 3.6% during the first quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 29,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 142.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Sinclair

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.