National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Shares Down 9.5% After Earnings Miss

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)’s share price traded down 9.5% on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $6.60 and last traded at $6.61. 1,343,022 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 120% from the average session volume of 609,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $62.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.20 million. National CineMedia had a net margin of 78.04% and a return on equity of 3.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NCMI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barrington Research upped their target price on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.25 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price (up from $6.00) on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Monday. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 2nd quarter worth about $92,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in National CineMedia in the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in National CineMedia during the second quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $637.84 million, a PE ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.79.

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.