National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.46 and last traded at $7.38, with a volume of 14110 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed 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, November 4th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.25 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.06.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $696.71 million, a P/E ratio of -29.36 and a beta of 2.07.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.01). National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 2.61% and a negative net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $62.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NCMI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 240.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 721,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,088,000 after acquiring an additional 509,756 shares in the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 1,581.1% during the second quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP now owns 490,809 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 461,614 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 5.6% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,936,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,905,000 after buying an additional 365,360 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 124.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 469,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 260,689 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 2nd quarter valued at $979,000. Institutional investors own 69.49% of the company’s stock.

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.