Wedbush Research Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for NCMI

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush reduced their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of National CineMedia in a report issued on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush analyst A. Reese now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of ($0.09) per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.02). Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $7.50 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for National CineMedia’s current full-year earnings is ($0.12) per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for National CineMedia’s Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.04) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($0.05) EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at ($0.23) EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.01) EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.01) EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on NCMI. StockNews.com downgraded National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Price Performance

NCMI stock opened at $5.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $482.62 million, a PE ratio of -20.28 and a beta of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.45. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $4.12 and a 1 year high of $7.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.13 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in National CineMedia by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 4,084 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of National CineMedia by 502.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 5,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is -52.17%.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.