Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Price Down 3.8% – Here’s What Happened

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) fell 3.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $12.46 and last traded at $12.6740. 161,591 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 424,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBGI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sinclair from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Sinclair Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $924.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.45 and its 200-day moving average is $14.70.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 64.27% and a negative net margin of 3.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is currently -59.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total value of $51,297.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 280,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,923,516.41. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $222,313.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,385 shares of company stock worth $430,611 over the last ninety days. 46.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBGI. Madison Avenue Partners LP acquired a new position in Sinclair in the 4th quarter worth about $13,918,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 906,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,875,000 after purchasing an additional 534,573 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,778,000 after purchasing an additional 373,566 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 7.7% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,069,000 after purchasing an additional 302,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 890.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after purchasing an additional 275,674 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Sinclair

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.