Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on SBGI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sinclair from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price objective on Sinclair in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Sinclair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI opened at $13.67 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $986.56 million, a PE ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.06. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $12.46 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $840.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.99 million. Sinclair had a net margin of 1.60% and a negative return on equity of 16.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.91) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sinclair will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,332.44. The trade was a 40.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 42.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $60,195,000 after purchasing an additional 220,623 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sinclair by 23.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Sinclair by 7.5% during the first 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 period. Converium Capital Inc. lifted its position in Sinclair by 15.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Sinclair by 1.3% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.