National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.39 and last traded at $7.34, with a volume of 310604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NCMI shares. Barrington Research upgraded National CineMedia from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. B. Riley increased their target price on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target (up from $6.00) on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.88.

National CineMedia Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $704.96 million, a P/E ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.76.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $54.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.87 million. National CineMedia had a net margin of 78.04% and a return on equity of 3.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.07) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National CineMedia

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in National CineMedia by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 42,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in National CineMedia by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 26,223 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in National CineMedia by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia during the second quarter worth $56,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 89,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 15,177 shares during the period. 69.49% of the stock is 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.