Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors cut its Sinclair stake by 4.9% in the first quarter, selling 206,167 shares and leaving it with 3,987,344 shares valued at about $51.6 million. Even after the trim, the firm still owned roughly 5.52% of Sinclair.
• Wall Street sentiment on Sinclair is mixed but leans cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating and an average price target of $19.20. Recent analyst actions included target cuts from Guggenheim and JPMorgan, while some firms upgraded the shares.
• Sinclair reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.28 versus expectations for a loss and revenue of $807 million, topping estimates. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25, implying a high annualized yield of about 7.4%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its position in shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,987,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 206,167 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 5.52% of Sinclair worth $51,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sinclair by 5.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Sinclair by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 134.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 6,615 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Sinclair by 17.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,097 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,075 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price target on Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.20.

Insider Activity

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

Sinclair Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.49 on Friday. Sinclair, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.89 and a 52 week high of $17.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10. The company has a market capitalization of $973.57 million, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $14.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.42.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.68) by $0.96. The firm had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $792.63 million. Sinclair had a net margin of 2.00% and a negative return on equity of 12.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($2.30) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.11%.

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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