Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Stock Price

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) had its price target raised by Benchmark from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Zacks Research raised Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Sinclair Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBGI opened at $16.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.77, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.70 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.68. Sinclair has a 12 month low of $11.89 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $840.25 million. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 3.53% and a negative return on equity of 67.24%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Analysts expect that Sinclair will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -59.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 77,685 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,820.35. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Benson E. Legg sold 6,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.81, for a total transaction of $103,523.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 71,165 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,118.65. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock worth $815,535. 41.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Madison Avenue Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,918,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sinclair by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 906,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,875,000 after buying an additional 534,573 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sinclair by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,946,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,778,000 after buying an additional 373,566 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Sinclair by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 4,242,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,069,000 after acquiring an additional 302,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sinclair by 890.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 306,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 275,674 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Sinclair

Here are the key news stories impacting Sinclair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $30 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling strong analyst conviction and a sizable upside case that likely boosted demand for the shares. Benchmark PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha upgraded Sinclair to Buy, highlighting 14% Q4 core advertising growth, a secure dividend yield and a near-term path to deleveraging driven by political ad tailwinds. Seeking Alpha Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend (~6.1% yield annualized), which increases income appeal to yield-seeking investors and supports the stock’s rally. (Ex-dividend date Mar 10; pay Mar 24.)
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 operational positives: management reported 14% core advertising growth and outperformance at Tennis Channel, which investors view as proof of underlying revenue mix improvement. Earnings Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat — Sinclair reported $0.04 EPS vs. consensus of ($0.03), a surprise to the upside that helped calm near-term earnings concerns. Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target modestly to $17 but kept an Equal Weight rating, a lukewarm signal compared with the more bullish Benchmark call. Wells Fargo PT
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 revenue guidance was narrowed to roughly $3.4–$3.5B (versus consensus near $3.5B) — guidance is roughly in line but leaves little margin for upside relative to expectations. Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management noted no material debt maturities until 2029, which reduces near-term refinancing risk even as leverage remains a focus. Debt Maturities
• Negative Sentiment: Top-line weakness and balance-sheet concerns persist: revenue fell ~16.7% YoY in Q4, the company reported a negative net margin (-1.35%) and negative ROE, and net leverage remains elevated (reported ~5.3x in analyst commentary). These fundamentals limit valuation upside until clear deleveraging occurs. Earnings / Transcript

About Sinclair

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.

At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.