Wall Street Zen Downgrades Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) to Sell

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SBGI. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sinclair from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sinclair in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Sinclair from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sinclair has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Sinclair Trading Up 2.4%

SBGI opened at $14.96 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.62. 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 $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.13 and a beta of 0.96. Sinclair has a 12 month low of $11.89 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Howard E. Friedman sold 14,713 shares of Sinclair stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.11, for a total value of $222,313.43. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,820.35. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David B. Gibber sold 29,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.67, for a total transaction of $489,697.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 165,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,084.24. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,637 shares of company stock valued at $815,535. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBGI. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Sinclair by 142.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 175.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sinclair during the second quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

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.