National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.70.

NCMI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $7.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated a "neutral" rating and set a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

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National CineMedia Trading Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ:NCMI traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,716,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. National CineMedia has a fifty-two week low of $4.12 and a fifty-two week high of $7.60. The firm has a market cap of $544.60 million, a P/E ratio of -22.88 and a beta of 2.19. The business's fifty day moving average is $6.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.65.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. The business had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. As a group, research analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia's payout ratio is -52.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in National CineMedia by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 107,069 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at $408,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 240.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,088,000 after buying an additional 509,756 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in National CineMedia during the third quarter worth $292,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in National CineMedia by 23.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,157,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,160,000 after acquiring an additional 222,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company's stock.

About National CineMedia

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.