National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Receives $5.38 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

Several research firms have commented on NCMI. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut National CineMedia from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price objective on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

Shares of NCMI stock opened at $3.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $2.78 and a fifty-two week high of $5.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.50. The stock has a market cap of $353.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.88 and a beta of 1.36.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.26) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.92 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 3.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.80%. On average, analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.01 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. National CineMedia’s payout ratio is presently -133.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In other news, insider Maria Vg Woods sold 12,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.77, for a total transaction of $45,458.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 163,162 shares in the company, valued at $615,120.74. The trade was a 6.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,218,288 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 34.2% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,151,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,376 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 61.3% in the first quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 1,820,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,553,000 after purchasing an additional 691,879 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,003,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 463,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in National CineMedia by 17.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,774,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,003,000 after purchasing an additional 266,032 shares during the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About National CineMedia

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.