National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Price Target Lowered to $7.00 at Benchmark

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Benchmark from $8.00 to $7.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NCMI. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wall Street Zen cut National CineMedia from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, B. Riley cut National CineMedia from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $6.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.00.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NCMI remained flat at $4.89 on Wednesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,135,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,963. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $4.12 and a 1 year high of $7.60. The stock has a market cap of $461.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.74 and a beta of 2.12. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $5.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.02.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 7.68% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $34.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. National CineMedia's dividend payout ratio is -63.16%.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in National CineMedia by 5.7% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 39,857 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in National CineMedia by 21.4% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in National CineMedia by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in National CineMedia by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 4,084 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in National CineMedia by 502.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 4,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company's stock.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.