National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Given Outperform Rating at Barrington Research

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by analysts at Barrington Research in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock. Barrington Research's target price suggests a potential upside of 21.74% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised National CineMedia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush raised 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 note on Friday. Finally, William Blair reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.70.

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National CineMedia Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ:NCMI traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $5.75. The stock had a trading volume of 665,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,717. The company has a market cap of $547.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.00 and a beta of 2.19. National CineMedia has a 12-month low of $4.12 and a 12-month high of $7.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The firm's fifty day moving average is $6.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.74.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Equities analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total value of $154,560.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,250,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,483,691.52. This trade represents a 3.01 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NCMI. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in National CineMedia in the 4th quarter worth approximately $384,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 2,562.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 69,539 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 66,927 shares in the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at $14,147,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at $182,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in National CineMedia by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 6,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company's stock.

National CineMedia Company Profile

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.