Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Holdings in Sinclair, Inc. $SBGI

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Sinclair stake by 71% in the second quarter, selling 205,188 shares and retaining 84,005 shares valued at approximately $1.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 41.71% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains neutral: Sinclair has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $19.40, while JPMorgan raised its target from $14 to $15 but maintained an “underweight” rating.
• Sinclair reported quarterly revenue of $840 million, up 7.1% year over year, but missed earnings estimates with a loss of $1.06 per share. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25, implying a 7.1% annualized yield, despite a payout ratio of 133.33%.

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its stake in Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Free Report) by 71.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 84,005 shares of the company's stock after selling 205,188 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.12% of Sinclair worth $1,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Sinclair by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,622,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,001,000 after acquiring an additional 113,788 shares during the period. Converium Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Sinclair by 15.8% in the first quarter. Converium Capital Inc. now owns 1,062,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,748,000 after purchasing an additional 144,674 shares during the last quarter. Madison Avenue Partners LP purchased a new position in Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,918,000. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Sinclair by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 180,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 57,616 shares during the period. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc grew its holdings in Sinclair by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 108,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SBGI. Wall Street Zen lowered Sinclair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Sinclair from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sinclair from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sinclair presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.40.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Director Daniel Keith sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $377,332.44. This trade represents a 40.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Gibber sold 29,246 shares of Sinclair stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total value of $401,840.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 184,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,531,512.56. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 42.10% of the company's stock.

Sinclair Stock Down 0.6%

Sinclair stock opened at $14.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28. Sinclair, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.46 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 1.05.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 1.60%.The company had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.91) EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share 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 issued 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 yield of 7.1%. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Sinclair Profile

Sinclair, Inc NASDAQ: SBGI is a diversified media company focused primarily on local television broadcasting in the United States. Through its television stations, the company provides local news, weather, sports, entertainment and syndicated programming to audiences in markets across the country.

Sinclair also develops and distributes content through national and regional networks, digital platforms and streaming services. Its portfolio has included sports-focused programming, news and information services, and digital products designed to extend the reach of its broadcast content across connected televisions, websites and mobile devices.

The company was founded in 1986 by David D.

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