Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Sinclair from “hold” to “strong sell.” Despite mixed views from other analysts, the stock has an overall “hold” consensus rating and an average price target of $19.20.
• Sinclair shares opened at $13.67, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $12.46 to $17.88. The company reported a quarterly loss of $1.06 per share, missing the $0.24 consensus estimate, though revenue rose 7.1% year over year to $840 million.
• Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares, reducing his position by 40.36%; insiders own 42.10% of Sinclair, while institutional investors and hedge funds hold 41.71%.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on Sinclair in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sinclair from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sinclair from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sinclair presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.20.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SBGI opened at $13.67 on Monday. Sinclair has a fifty-two week low of $12.46 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.28, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $986.56 million, a P/E ratio of 18.23 and a beta of 1.06.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.82). Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 16.09% and a net margin of 1.60%.The firm had revenue of $840.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.91) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sinclair will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sinclair news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $255,340.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,332.44. This trade represents a 40.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 42.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sinclair by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,258 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 134.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 6,615 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,097 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,075 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company's stock.

Sinclair Company Profile

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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