Insider Buying: National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) Major Shareholder Acquires 103,685 Shares of Stock

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) major shareholder Blantyre Capital Ltd purchased 103,685 shares of National CineMedia stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $5.18 per share, for a total transaction of $537,088.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,310,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,408,042.94. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Blantyre Capital Ltd also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 7th, Blantyre Capital Ltd acquired 300,000 shares of National CineMedia stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,536,000.00.

National CineMedia Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ NCMI opened at $5.53 on Thursday. National CineMedia, Inc. has a 52 week low of $3.87 and a 52 week high of $7.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $526.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.12 and a beta of 2.19.

National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The business services provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.77 million. National CineMedia had a negative net margin of 9.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.61%. As a group, analysts anticipate that National CineMedia, Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National CineMedia

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $48,905,000 after acquiring an additional 365,360 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of National CineMedia by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,923,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 132,895 shares during the last quarter. Sycale Advisors NY LLC bought a new stake in shares of National CineMedia during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,147,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,961,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,835,000 after purchasing an additional 15,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of National CineMedia by 23.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,157,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 222,498 shares in the last quarter. 69.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NCMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. William Blair reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.50 price target on shares of National CineMedia in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barrington Research reduced their price target on shares of National CineMedia from $8.25 to $7.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of National CineMedia from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, National CineMedia currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.70.

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.