National CineMedia, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.03 (NASDAQ:NCMI)

Key Points

• National CineMedia, Inc. will issue a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share to stockholders of record on August 15th, leading to an annualized dividend of $0.12 and a dividend yield of 2.6%.
• The company's current payout ratio is 133.3%, indicating reliance on its balance sheet for dividend payments, but future projections suggest a payout ratio of 57.1% when earnings are expected to improve.
• Shares of National CineMedia saw a 3.3% increase in trading, with a recent trading price of $4.69, while analysts have mixed ratings, including a consensus "Hold" with a price target of $6.90.

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.03 per share by the business services provider on Friday, August 29th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th.

National CineMedia has a payout ratio of 133.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect National CineMedia to earn $0.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.

National CineMedia Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NCMI stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $4.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,313,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,627. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.01 and a 200 day moving average of $5.68. The stock has a market cap of $442.27 million, a PE ratio of -24.68 and a beta of 2.14. National CineMedia has a 12-month low of $4.12 and a 12-month high of $7.60.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share 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 2.83% and a negative net margin of 7.68%. As a group, analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NCMI shares. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. B. Riley lowered shares of National CineMedia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $6.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of National CineMedia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $6.90.

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.

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