Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Receives $20.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SBGI. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total value of $103,523.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 71,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,118.65. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the sale, the director owned 77,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,820.35. This trade represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 7.7% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,069,000 after purchasing an additional 302,160 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 220,623 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $29,778,000 after buying an additional 373,566 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Corp VA grew its position in shares of Sinclair by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Management Corp VA now owns 1,655,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,991,000 after buying an additional 97,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Sinclair by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,509,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,089,000 after acquiring an additional 73,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78. The company has a market cap of $974.13 million, a P/E ratio of -8.32 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.76. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $11.89 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 64.27% and a negative net margin of 3.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Sinclair’s payout ratio is presently -59.52%.

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.