Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SBGI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Sinclair Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $14.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77. Sinclair has a 1-year low of $11.89 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,820.35. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $489,697.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,084.24. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock valued at $815,535 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sinclair by 142.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Sinclair during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Sinclair in the third quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sinclair during the second quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.