Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on SBGI. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Sinclair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $14.60 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $15.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.64. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.55 and a beta of 0.96. Sinclair has a 12-month low of $11.89 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total transaction of $222,313.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 77,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,820.35. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $489,697.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,084.24. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock valued at $815,535 over the last quarter. Insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 142.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sinclair during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Sinclair by 175.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sinclair during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sinclair in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 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.