Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Trading Up 3.7% Following Insider Buying Activity

Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) shares shot up 3.7% during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $14.97 and last traded at $14.86. 34,755 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 256,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.32.

Specifically, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 67,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.96 per share, with a total value of $937,148.76. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 818,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,431,411.24. This represents a 8.93 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SBGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Sinclair in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.30.

Sinclair Trading Up 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $987.06 million, a P/E ratio of -4.50 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.73, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.65.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Sinclair had a positive return on equity of 63.89% and a negative net margin of 6.14%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Sinclair’s payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Institutional Trading of Sinclair

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBGI. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 418.1% in the fourth quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 440,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,108,000 after purchasing an additional 355,419 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the third quarter valued at $2,110,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the third quarter valued at $1,605,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sinclair in the fourth quarter valued at $1,688,000. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 1,144,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,472,000 after purchasing an additional 84,493 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.

About Sinclair

Sinclair, Inc, a media company, provides content on local television stations and digital platforms in the United States. It operates through two segments, Local Media and Tennis. The Local Media segment operates broadcast television stations, original networks, and content; provides free-over-the-air programming and live local sporting events on its stations; distributes its content to multi-channel video programming distributors in exchange for contractual fees; and produces local and original news programs.