Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $16.53, but opened at $16.96. Sinclair shares last traded at $16.60, with a volume of 47,879 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 17,902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.45 per share, for a total transaction of $294,487.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now owns 1,082,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,811,582.95. This represents a 1.68 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 4,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.44 per share, with a total value of $75,887.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 972,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,983,050.20. This trade represents a 0.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Sinclair news, Chairman David D. Smith bought 61,591 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.79 per share, for a total transaction of $972,521.89. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 962,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,204,996.29. This trade represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Sinclair in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.30.

Sinclair Stock Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.06 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.81.

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

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.99%. Sinclair’s payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sinclair

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Sinclair by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sinclair in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sinclair in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Sinclair by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.