Ameriprise Financial Inc. Increases Position in National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) by 89.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,800 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.09% of National CineMedia worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NCMI. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth about $116,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NCMI shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. B. Riley cut shares of National CineMedia from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report 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 research report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.20.

Insider Transactions at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired 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 trade represents a 1.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NCMI opened at $5.29 on Wednesday. National CineMedia, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.12 and a 52 week high of $7.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.87 million, a P/E ratio of -21.16 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.24. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $34.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.13 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National CineMedia Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -63.16%.

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.