Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SBGI. Benchmark upped their target price on Sinclair from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Sinclair from $16.40 to $16.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sinclair presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $19.88.

Sinclair Stock Performance

NASDAQ SBGI opened at $15.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.14, a PEG ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.54. Sinclair has a twelve month low of $9.39 and a twelve month high of $17.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.93.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.40. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 10.78% and a positive return on equity of 22.55%. The firm had revenue of $829.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $836.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.09) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sinclair will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is -14.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sinclair by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,889,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,626,000 after buying an additional 78,793 shares during the last quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC lifted its position in Sinclair by 86.1% in the 4th quarter. Alden Global Capital LLC now owns 645,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,410,000 after acquiring an additional 298,508 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Sinclair by 52.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 114,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 39,624 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sinclair during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,359,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 92.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.