National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Shares Up 2.9% – Here’s What Happened

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)’s share price traded up 2.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.75 and last traded at $5.77. 154,547 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 606,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush raised shares of National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Up 4.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $555.84 million, a PE ratio of -23.34 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is currently -52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,923,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 132,895 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 2,562.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 69,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 66,927 shares during the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new position in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth $14,147,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth about $182,000. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.