National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

NCMI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Benchmark reiterated a “speculative buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wedbush raised their target price on National CineMedia from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $6.75 in a report on Tuesday, March 19th.

National CineMedia Price Performance

Shares of NCMI stock opened at $4.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $431.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.89. National CineMedia has a 12 month low of $1.80 and a 12 month high of $5.75.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 18th. The business services provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $90.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.25 million. National CineMedia had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 426.68%. Research analysts expect that National CineMedia will post 0.03 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NCMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in National CineMedia by 1,792,883.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,755,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,842,000 after buying an additional 5,755,155 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,656,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,504,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National CineMedia by 1,126.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,336,927 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glendon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,538,000. Institutional investors 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.