Northern Trust Corp Grows Stake in National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 657,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,297 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.69% of National CineMedia worth $4,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in National CineMedia during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in National CineMedia during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in National CineMedia during the fourth quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at $116,000. 69.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 10,250,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,483,691.52. The trade was a 3.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

National CineMedia Price Performance

National CineMedia stock opened at $4.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $467.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.84 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.34. National CineMedia, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.12 and a 1 year high of $7.60.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.13 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. On average, research analysts forecast that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NCMI. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. B. Riley lowered National CineMedia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 16th. StockNews.com cut National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.20.

National CineMedia 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.