AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCX) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.38.

AMCX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of AMC Networks from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AMC Networks from $8.00 to $4.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AMC Networks from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of AMC Networks from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMC Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMC Networks

In other news, insider F. Dolan 2009 Revocabl Charles sold 154,345 shares of AMC Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.95, for a total transaction of $1,072,697.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,789.35. The trade was a 88.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMC Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMCX. RWWM Inc. increased its stake in AMC Networks by 74.3% during the first quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 2,712,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,267 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AMC Networks by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,715,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,987,000 after acquiring an additional 39,581 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of AMC Networks by 333.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,622,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,571 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMC Networks by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,465,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,505,000 after purchasing an additional 267,044 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in AMC Networks by 8.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,147,000 after acquiring an additional 69,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.51% of the company’s stock.

AMC Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ AMCX opened at $6.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.11. AMC Networks has a 52-week low of $5.41 and a 52-week high of $18.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $282.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.43.

AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.21). AMC Networks had a positive return on equity of 18.61% and a negative net margin of 9.36%. The company had revenue of $555.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that AMC Networks will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AMC Networks

AMC Networks Inc, an entertainment company, owns and operates a suite of video entertainment products that are delivered to audiences, a platform to distributors, and advertisers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Domestic Operations, and International and Other segments.