National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NCMI. Weiss Ratings downgraded National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barrington Research set a $4.25 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wedbush set a $5.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.81.

National CineMedia Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NCMI stock opened at $2.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. National CineMedia has a 52-week low of $1.99 and a 52-week high of $4.56. The company has a market capitalization of $195.06 million, a PE ratio of -23.11 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $2.40 and its 200 day moving average is $3.15.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $58.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.34 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 3.05% and a negative return on equity of 1.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In related news, insider Maria Woods sold 12,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.09, for a total value of $25,475.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 176,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,524.54. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,220,165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,237,000 after buying an additional 444,984 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in National CineMedia by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,997,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,094,000 after buying an additional 62,395 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its position in National CineMedia by 61.3% in the 1st quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 1,820,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,553,000 after buying an additional 691,879 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in National CineMedia in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,653,000. Finally, Zazove Associates LLC boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 78.3% in the first quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 458,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,400,000 after buying an additional 201,564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc (NASDAQ:NCMI) is a media company focused on advertising and entertainment in movie theaters. Through its Noovie pre-show network, the company delivers advertising, branded content, movie-related entertainment and other programming to audiences before films begin.

National CineMedia sells and distributes national, regional and local advertising campaigns across participating cinema locations in the United States. Its offerings can include on-screen video advertising, interactive promotions, lobby advertising and other theater-based marketing programs designed to connect brands with moviegoers.

The company was established in 2005 and became a publicly traded company in 2007.