Insider Selling: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) COO Sells 3,672 Shares of Stock

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total transaction of $51,297.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 280,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,923,516.41. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Robert Weisbord also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 2nd, Robert Weisbord sold 10,000 shares of Sinclair stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $157,000.00.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBGI traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $14.07. The stock had a trading volume of 249,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 518,076. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Sinclair, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.89 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.75. The stock has a market cap of $980.40 million, a P/E ratio of -8.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 3.53% and a negative return on equity of 64.27%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Sinclair’s payout ratio is presently -59.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SBGI shares. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sinclair currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sinclair during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sinclair during the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.