National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Upgraded to “Outperform” at Wedbush

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was upgraded by research analysts at Wedbush from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $7.50 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research cut their price target on National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.70.

National CineMedia Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ NCMI opened at $5.71 on Friday. National CineMedia has a twelve month low of $4.03 and a twelve month high of $7.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.77. The firm has a market cap of $543.65 million, a PE ratio of -22.84 and a beta of 2.19.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. Analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.18 per share, with a total value of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $154,560.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,085.37. This trade represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NCMI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in National CineMedia by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 7,859 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 240.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 509,756 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the third quarter worth $316,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the third quarter valued at $292,000. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.