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

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.70.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush upgraded National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.12 per share, with a total value of $1,536,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,250,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,483,691.52. This represents a 3.01 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at $14,147,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,546,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,058,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $5,088,000 after buying an additional 509,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 5.6% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,936,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,905,000 after buying an additional 365,360 shares in the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NCMI opened at $5.75 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $547.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 1.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.64. National CineMedia has a 12 month low of $4.12 and a 12 month high of $7.60.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th were given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.17%.

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.