National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Short Interest Down 17.7% in April

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, a decrease of 17.7% from the March 31st total of 4,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 713,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

National CineMedia Stock Performance

NCMI stock opened at $4.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.25. National CineMedia has a 1-year low of $2.03 and a 1-year high of $5.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $433.24 million, a PE ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.89.

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

Institutional Trading of National CineMedia

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NCMI. Glendon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,538,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,914,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 35.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,245,650 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,161,000. Finally, PSquared Asset Management AG acquired a new stake in shares of National CineMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,067,000. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NCMI. StockNews.com upgraded National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Benchmark restated a “speculative buy” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. B. Riley raised National CineMedia from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $4.50 to $6.75 in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on National CineMedia from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th.

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.