Short Interest in National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Expands By 25.5%

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,640,000 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the April 30th total of 6,090,000 shares. Currently, 11.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 834,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.2 days.

National CineMedia Price Performance

NASDAQ NCMI traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5.04. 404,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 646,629. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $475.29 million, a PE ratio of -20.16 and a beta of 2.12. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $4.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.60. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $5.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.22.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.13 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. Research analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. National CineMedia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National CineMedia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in National CineMedia by 502.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in National CineMedia in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company's stock.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.