Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a “hold” to a “buy,” even though the broader analyst view remains cautious with an overall consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $19.20.
• Sinclair reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.28 versus a consensus estimate of a loss of $0.68, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $807 million.
• The stock opened at $14.28, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while recent insider selling and a high debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10 highlight some ongoing investor concerns.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim cut their target price on Sinclair from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 target price on Sinclair in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Sinclair Price Performance

SBGI opened at $14.28 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.86. Sinclair has a 1 year low of $11.89 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.10, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.09.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.96. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $807.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($2.30) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Sinclair will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Sinclair

In other news, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $296,230.30. Following the sale, the director owned 25,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,853.70. The trade was a 47.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Robert Weisbord sold 3,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.97, for a total value of $51,297.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 280,853 shares in the company, valued at $3,923,516.41. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 41.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sinclair by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,001 shares of the company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares during the period. Kendall Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 3.8% during the third quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 26,495 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 142.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,724 shares of the company's stock worth $883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company's stock.

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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