National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI – Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

View Our Latest Report on NCMI

National CineMedia Trading Up 3.3 %

National CineMedia stock opened at $5.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.57 and its 200-day moving average is $6.77. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $4.03 and a 1 year high of $7.60. The company has a market cap of $543.65 million, a P/E ratio of -22.84 and a beta of 2.19.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. The company had revenue of $86.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. On average, equities analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In other news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 10,250,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,483,691.52. The trade was a 3.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value 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. The trade was a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in National CineMedia by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in National CineMedia during the fourth quarter valued at about $408,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $5,088,000 after purchasing an additional 509,756 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the third quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake 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 worth $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 222,498 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

About National CineMedia

(Get Free Report)

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.

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