National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $34.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.92 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 4.32% and a negative return on equity of 2.29%.

National CineMedia Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of National CineMedia stock traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $3.38. The company had a trading volume of 237,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,056. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.39 and a 200-day moving average of $3.71. National CineMedia has a twelve month low of $2.92 and a twelve month high of $5.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.29 million, a P/E ratio of -33.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

National CineMedia Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. National CineMedia’s dividend payout ratio is -120.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NCMI. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on National CineMedia from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barrington Research reduced their target price on National CineMedia from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of National CineMedia from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, National CineMedia has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.38.

Insider Activity at National CineMedia

In other National CineMedia news, EVP Maria Vg Woods sold 12,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.04, for a total value of $36,680.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 143,097 shares in the company, valued at $435,014.88. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in National CineMedia by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 9,523,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,048,000 after buying an additional 4,218,288 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of National CineMedia by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,151,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,742,000 after buying an additional 1,568,376 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,519,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,382,000 after acquiring an additional 12,172 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,003,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 463,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in National CineMedia by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,958,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,621,000 after acquiring an additional 25,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Company Profile

National CineMedia, Inc is a leading U.S. out-of-home media company specializing in cinema advertising. The firm operates a proprietary network that delivers high-impact advertising content to moviegoers across a broad footprint of theaters, offering brands a targeted and immersive way to engage audiences in a captive, distraction-free environment.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, National CineMedia began as a joint venture among several major exhibition chains.