Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.40.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Sinclair from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBGI opened at $14.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.32. Sinclair has a 12-month low of $12.46 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.82). Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 1.60%.The business had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.91) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Sinclair will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $401,840.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,531,512.56. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $255,340.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,122 shares in the company, valued at $377,332.44. This represents a 40.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 42.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,195,000 after purchasing an additional 220,623 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,778,000 after buying an additional 373,566 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after buying an additional 113,788 shares in the last quarter. Converium Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,748,000 after buying an additional 144,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 916,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,026,000 after buying an additional 12,111 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.