JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Price Target to $14.00

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

SBGI has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sinclair has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

Sinclair Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.66. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $11.89 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $931.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42.

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

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -59.52%.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In related news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total value of $51,297.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 280,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,923,516.41. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total value of $296,230.30. Following the sale, the director owned 25,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,853.70. The trade was a 47.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 70,385 shares of company stock valued at $980,811. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Sinclair by 175.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sinclair during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sinclair during the second quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Sinclair

Here are the key news stories impacting Sinclair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sinclair paid its quarterly dividend ($0.25; annualized $1.00), implying a ~7.7% yield that supports demand from income-focused investors. This steady cash return can help buoy the share price even as operating results remain uneven. MarketBeat SBGI
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker consensus is roughly a “Hold” with a wide spread of opinions (two Buys, two Holds, two Sells reported), leaving near-term direction dependent on earnings/cash flow and potential M&A or cost actions. The stock trades below its 50- and 200-day averages, so technicals are neutral-to-cautious. Analyst Consensus
• Negative Sentiment: Director Daniel C. Keith sold roughly 42,000 SBGI shares across filings dated March 31–April 2 at an average price of $13.10, materially reducing his stake — a notable insider exit that can pressure sentiment and signal limited near-term insider confidence. InsiderTrades: Keith Sales
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target to $14.00 and moved to an “underweight” stance, removing upside expectations from a major sell-side voice and likely contributing to selling pressure from discretionary managers. JPMorgan Note

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.