National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Downgraded by B. Riley to “Neutral”

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at B. Riley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $6.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. B. Riley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.88% from the company’s current price.

NCMI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research 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 report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered National CineMedia from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.20.

National CineMedia Trading Down 0.6%

NCMI stock opened at $5.09 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $4.12 and a twelve month high of $7.60. The company has a market cap of $480.01 million, a P/E ratio of -20.36 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.72 and a 200-day moving average of $6.40.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $34.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.13 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that National CineMedia will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd bought 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.12 per share, with a total value of $1,536,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,250,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,483,691.52. The trade was a 3.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of National CineMedia by 59.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 488,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 182,548 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in National CineMedia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $120,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in National CineMedia by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 101,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 32,306 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in National CineMedia by 156.3% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 381,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 232,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 21.4% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 3,001 shares during the period. 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.