National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Trading Down 9.5% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) were down 9.5% on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $6.60 and last traded at $6.61. Approximately 1,343,022 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 120% from the average daily volume of 609,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.30.

The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.20 million. National CineMedia had a return on equity of 3.50% and a net margin of 78.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NCMI. Barrington Research lifted their target price on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.25 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Monday, September 23rd. B. Riley raised their target price on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 target price (up previously from $6.00) on shares of National CineMedia in a research report 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.06.

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in National CineMedia by 38.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $10,127,000 after purchasing an additional 537,822 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of National CineMedia by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,584,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,460,000 after buying an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the first quarter worth about $298,000. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the first quarter worth about $2,352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

National CineMedia Stock Down 9.5 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.78. The company has a market cap of $638.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

About National CineMedia

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.