Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on SBGI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sinclair from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $19.40.

Sinclair Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.43. The company had a trading volume of 100,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,777. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 1.06. Sinclair has a 1 year low of $12.46 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.30.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company posted ($0.91) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sinclair will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $401,840.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,512.56. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total transaction of $255,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,332.44. This trade represents a 40.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 42.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $60,195,000 after purchasing an additional 220,623 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 373,566 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Sinclair by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,001,000 after buying an additional 113,788 shares during the last quarter. Converium Capital Inc. boosted its stake 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 boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.