Brokerages Set Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Price Target at $19.00

Shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SBGI. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th.

Insider Activity

In other Sinclair news, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,118.65. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 77,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,820.35. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 41.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Sinclair by 142.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Sinclair by 175.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sinclair during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sinclair during the second quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Sinclair by 26.2% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Sinclair stock opened at $15.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -24.90 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.67. Sinclair has a 1 year low of $11.89 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.65) by $0.63. The company had revenue of $773.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.78 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 10.19% and a negative net margin of 1.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sinclair will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently -161.29%.

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.