Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Two analysts rate Sinclair a sell, two hold, and two buy, with an average 12-month price target of $19.40 versus the stock’s $12.80 opening price.
• Sinclair’s latest quarterly results missed expectations on earnings, reporting a loss of $1.06 per share versus the $0.24 consensus estimate, although revenue rose 7.1% year over year to $840 million.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equivalent to a 7.8% annualized yield, but its 133.33% payout ratio exceeds reported earnings.

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.40.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SBGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sinclair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sinclair from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sinclair from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th.

Sinclair Trading Up 2.2%

SBGI stock opened at $12.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $925.70 million, a P/E ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 1.12. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $12.23 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.52 and a 200-day moving average of $14.02.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.82). The firm had revenue of $840.00 million for 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 company's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sinclair will post 1.01 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. Sinclair's payout ratio is 133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Gibber sold 29,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $401,840.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 184,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,512.56. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 42.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Converium Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,748,000 after acquiring an additional 144,674 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sinclair by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company's stock worth $21,001,000 after acquiring an additional 113,788 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Sinclair by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,137 shares of the company's stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 38,962 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Sinclair during the 1st quarter worth approximately $191,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sinclair by 2,823.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc NASDAQ: SBGI is a diversified media company that owns and operates local television stations across the United States. Its broadcast stations provide local news, weather, community programming, syndicated content and programming from major national television networks, including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC in selected markets.

The company also develops and distributes sports, entertainment and digital media content through businesses and brands such as Tennis Channel, Stadium, Charge!, Comet and TBD.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.