StockNews.com Upgrades National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NCMI. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barrington Research lowered their price target on National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National CineMedia presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NCMI stock opened at $5.71 on Tuesday. National CineMedia has a one year low of $4.03 and a one year high of $7.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $6.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.77. The stock has a market cap of $543.65 million, a P/E ratio of -22.84 and a beta of 2.19.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. The company had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. Analysts predict that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National CineMedia news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $154,560.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,085.37. The trade was a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.18 per share, with a total value of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at $384,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of National CineMedia by 2,562.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 69,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 66,927 shares during the period. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,147,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.