B. Riley Downgrades National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) to Neutral

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was downgraded by equities researchers at B. Riley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Friday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $6.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on NCMI. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. William Blair reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.20.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of National CineMedia stock opened at $5.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The company has a market cap of $480.01 million, a PE ratio of -20.36 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.40. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $4.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.60.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.04). National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.13 million. Analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In other news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 103,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 59.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 488,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 182,548 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in National CineMedia during the 1st quarter worth about $120,000. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in National CineMedia by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 101,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 32,306 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in National CineMedia by 156.3% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 381,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after acquiring an additional 232,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in National CineMedia by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares in the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National CineMedia

National CineMedia, Inc, through its subsidiary, National CineMedia, LLC, operates cinema advertising network in North America. It engages in the sale of advertising to national, regional, and local businesses in Noovie, a cinema advertising and entertainment show seen on movie screens; and sells advertising on its Lobby Entertainment Network, a series of strategically-placed screens located in movie theater lobbies, as well as other forms of advertising and promotions in theatre lobbies.