Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Sinclair, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $16.53, but opened at $16.96. Sinclair shares last traded at $16.60, with a volume of 47,879 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 17,902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.45 per share, with a total value of $294,487.90. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 1,082,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,811,582.95. The trade was a 1.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman David D. Smith purchased 4,616 shares of Sinclair stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.44 per share, for a total transaction of $75,887.04. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 972,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,983,050.20. The trade was a 0.48 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other news, Chairman David D. Smith acquired 61,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.79 per share, with a total value of $972,521.89. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 962,951 shares in the company, valued at $15,204,996.29. This represents a 6.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBGI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sinclair from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sinclair from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Sinclair in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.30.

Sinclair Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.89 and a 200 day moving average of $15.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.08 and a beta of 1.50.

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.62. Sinclair had a negative net margin of 6.14% and a positive return on equity of 63.89%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Equities analysts predict that Sinclair, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Sinclair Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.96%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sinclair

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sinclair by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,714,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,945,000 after acquiring an additional 64,683 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Sinclair by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,704,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,787,000 after purchasing an additional 55,350 shares in the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Sinclair by 8.0% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 826,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,655,000 after purchasing an additional 15,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sinclair by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 528,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,534,000 after purchasing an additional 11,883 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.