Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates boosted its stake in Sinclair by 46.4% in Q3, owning 668,621 shares (about $10.10M and ~0.96% of the company), while other institutions also increased positions and institutional ownership stands at 41.71%.
• Company insiders sold a total of 50,637 shares in the last quarter (including a director and the EVP), though insiders still collectively own 46.60% of Sinclair.
• Sinclair declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00) for a 6.7% yield with an ex-dividend date of March 10, and recently reported Q results that beat EPS estimates ($0.04 vs. -$0.03) despite a 16.7% year‑over‑year revenue decline and negative profitability metrics.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Free Report) by 46.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 668,621 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 212,040 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned approximately 0.96% of Sinclair worth $10,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Sinclair by 1,159.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 140,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 129,335 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Sinclair by 9.4% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,191,313 shares of the company's stock worth $17,989,000 after purchasing an additional 102,759 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Sinclair by 7.7% in 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. Teton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sinclair during the third quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Finally, GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. boosted its position in shares of Sinclair by 108.5% during the third quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 82,842 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 43,117 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was 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 $1,173,820.35. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total value of $489,697.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,084.24. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock valued at $815,535. Company insiders own 46.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Sinclair from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Benchmark increased their target price on Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sinclair has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

Sinclair Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI opened at $14.84 on Tuesday. Sinclair, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.89 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -8.83 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 64.27% and a negative net margin of 3.53%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Sinclair's payout ratio is currently -59.52%.

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.

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