National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NCMI shares. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of National CineMedia stock opened at $3.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $332.92 million, a PE ratio of -39.44 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.30 and a 200 day moving average of $3.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. National CineMedia has a 12 month low of $2.78 and a 12 month high of $5.53.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.92 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 1.80% and a negative net margin of 3.47%.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is presently -133.33%.

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total transaction of $36,680.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 143,097 shares in the company, valued at $435,014.88. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lunate Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the third quarter valued at $36,740,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in shares of National CineMedia by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 9,523,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,218,288 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,151,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,742,000 after buying an additional 1,568,376 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP grew its holdings in National CineMedia by 61.3% during the 1st quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 1,820,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,553,000 after acquiring an additional 691,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,003,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 463,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Company Profile

National CineMedia, Inc is a leading U.S. out-of-home media company specializing in cinema advertising. The firm operates a proprietary network that delivers high-impact advertising content to moviegoers across a broad footprint of theaters, offering brands a targeted and immersive way to engage audiences in a captive, distraction-free environment.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, National CineMedia began as a joint venture among several major exhibition chains.