Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $13.81, but opened at $14.53. Sinclair shares last traded at $14.4350, with a volume of 12,666 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SBGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on shares of Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sinclair presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Sinclair Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. The business had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a net margin of 2.00% and a negative return on equity of 12.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.30) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 111.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sinclair

In other news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,122 shares in the company, valued at $377,332.44. This represents a 40.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,934,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,195,000 after acquiring an additional 220,623 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sinclair by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,778,000 after purchasing an additional 373,566 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Sinclair by 7.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,001,000 after purchasing an additional 113,788 shares during the period. Converium Capital Inc. increased its position in Sinclair by 15.8% in the first quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,748,000 after buying an additional 144,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 916,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,026,000 after buying an additional 12,111 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.