National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Barrington Research lowered their price target on the stock from $8.25 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $6.35, but opened at $5.70. Barrington Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. National CineMedia shares last traded at $5.56, with a volume of 190,589 shares.

NCMI has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.70.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other 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 value of $154,560.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCMI. Sycale Advisors NY LLC purchased a new position in National CineMedia in the 4th quarter worth about $14,147,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,546,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,058,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in National CineMedia by 240.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 509,756 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in National CineMedia by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,936,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,905,000 after acquiring an additional 365,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

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 simple moving average is $6.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.81. The company has a market cap of $495.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.88 and a beta of 2.06.

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

About National CineMedia

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.