National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

NCMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on National CineMedia from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on National CineMedia from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total value of $36,680.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 143,097 shares in the company, valued at $435,014.88. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zazove Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Zazove Associates LLC now owns 257,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 77,136 shares during the period. EVR Research LP purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth $389,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 9,523,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,048,000 after purchasing an additional 4,218,288 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 38,712 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NCMI opened at $3.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $325.55 million, a P/E ratio of -34.90 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.80. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $2.92 and a 1-year high of $6.18.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.03. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.29% and a negative net margin of 4.32%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National CineMedia Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio is currently -120.00%.

National CineMedia Company Profile

National CineMedia, Inc is a leading U.S. out-of-home media company specializing in cinema advertising. The firm operates a proprietary network that delivers high-impact advertising content to moviegoers across a broad footprint of theaters, offering brands a targeted and immersive way to engage audiences in a captive, distraction-free environment.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, National CineMedia began as a joint venture among several major exhibition chains.