Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.00.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SBGI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

Sinclair Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SBGI stock opened at $15.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $11.89 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of -24.60 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.66.

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

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently -161.29%.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In related news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,118.65. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total transaction of $222,313.43. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,820.35. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535 over the last three months. 41.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 142.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 175.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sinclair during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sinclair in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Sinclair by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.