Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Sinclair's stock shares gapped up from a previous close of $12.56 to an opening price of $14.90 following the announcement of a $0.25 dividend to be paid on September 15th.
• The company's annual dividend yield is 6.9%, with a payout ratio of 120.48%, indicating that it is distributing more in dividends than its profits.
• Sinclair's most recent quarterly earnings reported a loss of ($0.91) per share, missing analysts' estimates, and the company saw a 5.4% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $12.56, but opened at $14.90. Sinclair shares last traded at $14.37, with a volume of 269,638 shares. The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Sinclair's payout ratio is currently 120.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark reduced their target price on Sinclair from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sinclair from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Sinclair from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sinclair has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.90.

Sinclair Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.32, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32 and a beta of 1.28.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.19). Sinclair had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $784.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $798.16 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. Carronade Capital Management LP grew its stake in Sinclair by 418.1% during the 4th quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 440,419 shares of the company's stock worth $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 355,419 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sinclair by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 717,007 shares of the company's stock worth $11,422,000 after purchasing an additional 282,400 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sinclair by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 971,689 shares of the company's stock worth $13,431,000 after purchasing an additional 129,277 shares in the last quarter. Kennondale Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sinclair during the 1st quarter worth $1,718,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Sinclair during the 1st quarter worth $1,608,000. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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