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

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

NCMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday. Barrington Research lowered their price target on National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. William Blair reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $154,560.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $408,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in National CineMedia by 240.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 509,756 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in National CineMedia during the third quarter worth approximately $292,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in National CineMedia by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,157,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 222,498 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 12,281 shares during the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NASDAQ NCMI traded down $1.48 on Friday, reaching $4.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,061. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $3.70 and a 1-year high of $7.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.81. The company has a market cap of $462.71 million, a P/E ratio of -19.50 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The business had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.