Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Benchmark from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 83.60% from the company’s previous close.

SBGI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Sinclair Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI opened at $16.34 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. Sinclair has a 1-year low of $11.89 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.73 and a beta of 0.96.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 67.24% and a negative net margin of 3.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 77,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,820.35. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 71,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,118.65. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535. Insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Management Corp VA grew its holdings in Sinclair by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 1,655,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,991,000 after acquiring an additional 97,226 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,940,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,462,000 after purchasing an additional 200,415 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 971,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 129,277 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Sinclair during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,617,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Sinclair by 109.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 131,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 68,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

More Sinclair News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sinclair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and advertising strength — Sinclair reported $0.04 EPS, topping estimates, and management highlighted strong core ad growth (including outperformance at Tennis Channel). Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend announced — Board declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend (6.1% yield annualized), with record/ex‑dividend dates in March; yield makes the stock more attractive to income investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness — Benchmark raised its PT to $30 and maintained a Buy rating; Wells Fargo raised its PT to $17 (Equal Weight). These raises and the Seeking Alpha upgrade to Buy add upward valuation pressure. Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 characterized as broadly in line — several outlets framed the quarter as roughly in line with expectations despite the EPS beat, tempering the market reaction. Q4 In Line
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance — Sinclair updated FY‑2026 revenue guidance to roughly $3.4–$3.5B, slightly under consensus; EPS guidance was not clearly restated in public summaries, leaving some uncertainty. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue decline and weak profitability — Q4 revenue fell ~16.7% YoY to $836M, and the company reported a negative net margin (~‑3.5%) and negative ROE, which are clear headwinds for valuation. Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: High leverage — analysts note elevated net leverage (~5.3x). Management cites no material maturities until 2029 and plans to prioritize deleveraging, but leverage remains a risk until reduced. Analysis / Upgrade

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.