Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.10.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark cut their target price on Sinclair from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sinclair from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday.

Sinclair Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.94. 389,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,995. The company's fifty day moving average is $14.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.60. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $11.13 and a fifty-two week high of $18.46. The stock has a market cap of $993.05 million, a PE ratio of -4.53 and a beta of 1.36.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported ($2.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.78) by ($0.40). Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. The firm had revenue of $776.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $774.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Sinclair's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sinclair will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.75%.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In other Sinclair news, Chairman David D. Smith bought 63,073 shares of Sinclair stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.91 per share, with a total value of $814,272.43. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,526,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,701,034.39. The trade was a 4.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 458,530 shares of company stock valued at $6,636,392. 41.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 378.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,229 shares of the company's stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 42,887 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sinclair in the 4th quarter worth approximately $791,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sinclair by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 243,973 shares of the company's stock worth $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 11,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Sinclair by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 31,015 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.