Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $14.59 and traded as high as $15.10. Sinclair shares last traded at $14.63, with a volume of 475,033 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SBGI shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Sinclair Trading Down 3.0%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.59. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.60 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by $0.63. The company had revenue of $773.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.78 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 1.35% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -161.29%.

Insider Activity at Sinclair

In related news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 71,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,118.65. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total transaction of $489,697.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,084.24. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sinclair by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 251,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,013,000 after buying an additional 7,970 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 134.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 6,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Sinclair in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $602,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.