National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Raised to Outperform at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. Wedbush currently has $7.50 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on NCMI. Barrington Research lowered their target price on National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Up 4.2 %

NCMI stock opened at $5.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.75. National CineMedia has a 52-week low of $4.05 and a 52-week high of $7.60. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $566.50 million, a P/E ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 2.19.

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

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 5.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in National CineMedia by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,923,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,412,000 after acquiring an additional 132,895 shares during the period. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new position in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth $14,147,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in National CineMedia by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,835,000 after acquiring an additional 15,605 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of National CineMedia by 23.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,157,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 222,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

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.