Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Upgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) to a "hold" rating, adding to a mixed range of ratings from other analysts, including downgrades and target price reductions from firms like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
• Sinclair reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.91) per share, which was below the expected consensus, alongside a revenue of $784 million, a decline of 5.4% year-over-year.
• Institutional investment in Sinclair has increased significantly, with firms like Carronade Capital and GAMMA Investing making substantial purchases, now accounting for 41.71% of the company's stock ownership.

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Free Report) to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday, August 21st,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Sinclair from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.30.

Sinclair Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of SBGI stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $14.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,063. Sinclair has a 52-week low of $11.89 and a 52-week high of $18.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.93, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.28.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.19). Sinclair had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 1.44%.The business had revenue of $784.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $798.16 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Sinclair's dividend payout ratio is 120.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sinclair by 142.0% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 175.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the second quarter worth about $54,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sinclair by 26.2% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors 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.