William Blair Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI)

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by stock analysts at William Blair in a report issued on Friday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $7.50 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. William Blair’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 43.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barrington Research cut their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $5.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.80. The stock has a market cap of $495.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.88 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $3.70 and a 1-year high of $7.60.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.77 million. On average, analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other National CineMedia news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $436,085.37. This trade represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in National CineMedia by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of National CineMedia by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,923,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 132,895 shares during the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,147,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of National CineMedia by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,835,000 after purchasing an additional 15,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in National CineMedia by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,157,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 222,498 shares in the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.