Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Down 6.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) traded down 6.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $15.85 and last traded at $15.65. 187,826 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 302,074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.77.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Sinclair in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.30.

Sinclair Trading Down 6.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.82. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.75 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Sinclair’s payout ratio is 21.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sinclair

In related news, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 38,410 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.01 per share, for a total transaction of $538,124.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 645,564 shares in the company, valued at $9,044,351.64. This trade represents a 6.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 262,541 shares of company stock valued at $3,844,778 in the last three months. 46.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Sinclair by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 86,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 14,344 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sinclair by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 210,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,405,000 after buying an additional 73,006 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Sinclair by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP raised its position in Sinclair by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 1,144,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,472,000 after acquiring an additional 84,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $395,000. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.