Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Sinclair from six brokers (2 sell, 2 hold, 2 buy), with an average 1‑year price target of $19.60.
• Insiders sold a total of 55,672 shares in the past 90 days — including 22,613 shares by director Daniel C. Keith and 3,672 by COO Robert Weisbord — though insiders still own 41.9% of the company.
• Sinclair beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.04 vs. -$0.03) but revenue fell 16.7% year‑over‑year and the company remains unprofitable, while it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized yield ~6.4%).

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.60.

SBGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Sinclair from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sinclair from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Benchmark increased their price objective on Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sinclair from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Sinclair news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total value of $296,230.30. Following the sale, the director owned 25,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,853.70. This trade represents a 47.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total value of $51,297.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 280,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,923,516.41. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498. Insiders own 41.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Sinclair during the 4th quarter worth approximately $174,000. Madison Avenue Partners LP bought a new position in Sinclair during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,918,000. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. grew its position in Sinclair by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 32,864 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 5,988 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sinclair by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,835 shares of the company's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 87,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Sinclair during the 4th quarter worth approximately $170,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sinclair Stock Performance

Shares of SBGI opened at $15.74 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $14.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.37 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Sinclair has a 52-week low of $11.89 and a 52-week high of $17.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $836.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 64.27% and a negative net margin of 3.53%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sinclair will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -59.52%.

About Sinclair

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc NASDAQ: SBGI is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.

At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.

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