Brokerages Set National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Price Target at $7.70

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.70.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NCMI shares. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Wedbush upgraded National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

Shares of NCMI stock opened at $5.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $560.68 million, a PE ratio of -23.56 and a beta of 1.92. National CineMedia has a 52-week low of $4.12 and a 52-week high of $7.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts forecast that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -52.17%.

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in National CineMedia by 502.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 4,237 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth about $91,000. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.