National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Upgraded at Wedbush

Wedbush upgraded shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Wedbush currently has $7.50 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NCMI. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on shares of National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

Shares of National CineMedia stock opened at $5.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $566.50 million, a P/E ratio of -23.80 and a beta of 2.19. National CineMedia has a 52 week low of $4.12 and a 52 week high of $7.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.75.

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

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,250,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,483,691.52. This represents a 3.01 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $154,560.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This trade represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

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

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.