Insider Selling: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Director Sells 17,000 Shares

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Director Daniel Keith sold 17,000 shares of Sinclair stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,122 shares in the company, valued at $377,332.44. This trade represents a 40.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Sinclair Stock Down 1.8%

Sinclair stock opened at $15.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Sinclair, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.89 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.54.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.30) EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.11%.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 142.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Sinclair by 175.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sinclair during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SBGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.20.

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.