Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th.

Sinclair has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Sinclair has a payout ratio of 66.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sinclair to earn ($0.02) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -5,000.0%.

Sinclair Trading Up 20.4%

Shares of SBGI stock traded up $2.83 on Thursday, hitting $16.69. The company had a trading volume of 442,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,147. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $11.89 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.91 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,125,118.65. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $489,697.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,084.24. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

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

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.