Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $15.69, but opened at $14.11. Sinclair shares last traded at $14.82, with a volume of 99,557 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($2.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.78) by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $776.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $774.79 million. Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim cut their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sinclair

In related news, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 30,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.09 per share, for a total transaction of $426,870.64. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 728,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,271,412.74. This trade represents a 4.34 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have acquired 458,530 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,392 in the last 90 days. 46.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 378.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after acquiring an additional 42,887 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sinclair by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sinclair during the 4th quarter valued at about $791,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Sinclair by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 243,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after buying an additional 11,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Sinclair by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 31,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Trading Down 4.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73. The company has a market cap of $993.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.53 and a beta of 1.36.

Sinclair Company Profile

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.