National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also commented on NCMI. National Bank Financial set a $1.75 price target on National CineMedia in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Barrington Research set a $4.25 price objective on National CineMedia in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wedbush set a $5.00 target price on National CineMedia and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.20.

National CineMedia Price Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $1.58 on Friday. National CineMedia has a 52 week low of $1.43 and a 52 week high of $4.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $148.17 million, a P/E ratio of -17.55 and a beta of 1.75.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $58.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.34 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.31% and a negative net margin of 3.05%. On average, equities analysts predict that National CineMedia will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National CineMedia news, insider Maria Woods sold 12,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.09, for a total transaction of $25,475.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 176,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,524.54. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NCMI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in National CineMedia by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,220,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,237,000 after acquiring an additional 444,984 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in National CineMedia in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,653,000. Luxor Capital Group LP raised its stake in National CineMedia by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 1,820,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after acquiring an additional 691,879 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in National CineMedia by 682.4% during the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 278,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 242,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zazove Associates LLC lifted its holdings in National CineMedia by 78.3% during the first quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 458,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 201,564 shares during the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: NCMI) is a media and advertising company focused on cinema-based marketing in the United States. Through its network of movie theaters, the company sells advertising opportunities that allow brands to reach audiences before feature films and throughout the theater environment.

Its primary product is the Noovie pre-show, a branded entertainment and advertising program shown on theater screens before movies. National CineMedia also offers on-screen advertising, lobby and other in-theater placements, digital and experiential campaigns, and related marketing solutions designed to connect advertisers with moviegoers.