National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Trading Up 2.9% – Should You Buy?

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)’s stock price traded up 2.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $5.75 and last traded at $5.77. 154,547 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 606,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NCMI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.70.

National CineMedia Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $569.36 million, a PE ratio of -23.92 and a beta of 2.19.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.77 million. On average, equities analysts predict that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

National CineMedia Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 24th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio is currently -52.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 103,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $53,408,042.94. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The acquisition 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCMI. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in National CineMedia in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.