Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.14.

SBGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Sinclair from $10.40 to $15.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sinclair from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sinclair from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Sinclair Price Performance

SBGI traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $13.18. The company had a trading volume of 581,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,189. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $9.39 and a twelve month high of $21.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $14.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.14. The company has a market capitalization of $838.27 million, a PE ratio of -2.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.73, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $826.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.75 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 9.29% and a positive return on equity of 26.46%. Sinclair's revenue for the quarter was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sinclair will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio is currently -20.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David R. Bochenek sold 20,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.44, for a total value of $279,592.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 30,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $408,567.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $407,400. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David R. Bochenek sold 20,803 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.44, for a total transaction of $279,592.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 39.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 54.9% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 24,420 shares of the company's stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 8,654 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Sinclair by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,945,312 shares of the company's stock worth $110,548,000 after acquiring an additional 38,631 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of Sinclair by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 5,068 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 273.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,812,000 after purchasing an additional 230,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the first quarter worth $216,000. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Sinclair Company Profile

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.