Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Trading 3.7% Higher After Insider Buying Activity

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI)’s share price rose 3.7% on Thursday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $14.97 and last traded at $14.86. Approximately 34,755 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 256,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.32.

Specifically, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 67,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.96 per share, for a total transaction of $937,148.76. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 818,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,431,411.24. The trade was a 8.93 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SBGI. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sinclair presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.30.

Sinclair Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $956.49 million, a PE ratio of -4.36 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $14.88 and its 200 day moving average is $15.65.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $1 billion for 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 anticipate that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sinclair by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,714,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,945,000 after purchasing an additional 64,683 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,704,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,787,000 after buying an additional 55,350 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Sinclair by 8.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sinclair by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 826,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,655,000 after acquiring an additional 15,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sinclair by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 528,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,534,000 after acquiring an additional 11,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

Sinclair Company Profile

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.