National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $7.32 and last traded at $7.26, with a volume of 140438 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $7.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NCMI shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Barrington Research raised National CineMedia from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $7.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of National CineMedia from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $6.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, National CineMedia presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.50.

National CineMedia Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $699.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 2.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $6.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.65.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in National CineMedia in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Fermata Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 2nd quarter valued at $92,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of National CineMedia during the 1st quarter valued at $104,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 6,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in National CineMedia in the second quarter worth $124,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.