National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Trading Up 4.4% - Here's What Happened

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $6.05 and last traded at $6.00. Approximately 71,949 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 646,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NCMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush raised shares of National CineMedia from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $7.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $7.50 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $6.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $544.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.88 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.77 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. On average, analysts forecast that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 24th will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -52.17%.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 23,742 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.51, for a total transaction of $154,560.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 66,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,085.37. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 103,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 10,310,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in National CineMedia by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,749 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in National CineMedia by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,611 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 6,217 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 476,468 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,164,000 after buying an additional 7,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of National CineMedia by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 728,915 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 7,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.