Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

SBGI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Research raised Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Sinclair Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ SBGI opened at $14.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 0.96. Sinclair has a 52-week low of $11.89 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sinclair news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 71,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,118.65. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $489,697.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,084.24. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 5.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares in the last quarter. 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. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Sinclair by 134.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 6,615 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Sinclair during the 2nd quarter valued at $602,000. Finally, Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new position in Sinclair during the second quarter worth $515,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.