Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sinclair by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,714,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,945,000 after acquiring an additional 64,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sinclair by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 826,949 shares of the company's stock worth $12,655,000 after buying an additional 15,263 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Sinclair by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 243,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,938,000 after buying an additional 11,883 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sinclair by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 121,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 7,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Sinclair by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 95,260 shares of the company's stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 9,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sinclair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Sinclair in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sinclair presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.30.

Insider Activity at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Chairman David D. Smith bought 30,296 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.09 per share, for a total transaction of $426,870.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 728,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,271,412.74. The trade was a 4.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 458,530 shares of company stock worth $6,636,392. 46.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBGI traded up $0.12 on Thursday, reaching $14.11. 49,067 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 340,988. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.84. The firm has a market cap of $937.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. Sinclair, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.13 and a fifty-two week high of $18.45.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.62. Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.09%. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

About Sinclair

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.