National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $8.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barrington Research raised shares of National CineMedia from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $7.50 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $7.50.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NCMI opened at $6.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $675.05 million, a P/E ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 2.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. National CineMedia has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $7.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $6.41 and a 200-day moving average of $5.36.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.01). National CineMedia had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 78.04%. The business had revenue of $54.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.87 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that National CineMedia will post -0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in National CineMedia by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 4,740,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,650 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,584,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,460,000 after purchasing an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 37.6% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,966,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,127,000 after purchasing an additional 537,822 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in National CineMedia by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,336,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,535,000 after purchasing an additional 187,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in National CineMedia by 64.2% in the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,136,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,853,000 after buying an additional 444,433 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.