National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their price target on National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, National CineMedia currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Price Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $5.39 on Tuesday. National CineMedia has a one year low of $3.71 and a one year high of $7.60. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $6.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.79. The company has a market cap of $511.59 million, a P/E ratio of -21.56 and a beta of 2.19.

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

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $154,560.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,085.37. The trade was a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in National CineMedia by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in National CineMedia by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,217 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in National CineMedia by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 476,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 7,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in National CineMedia by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,840,000 after acquiring an additional 7,218 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

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.