Insider Selling: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) EVP Sells $401,840.04 in Stock

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) EVP David Gibber sold 29,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $401,840.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 184,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,512.56. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sinclair Stock Up 1.5%

SBGI stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 344,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,060. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28. Sinclair, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.46 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.31.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.82). Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 1.60%.The company had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.91) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBGI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Sinclair by 142.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 175.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sinclair during 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.