Sinclair Broadcast Group Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of TV broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group (NAS: SBGI) were turning up the volume today as they rose as much as 15% in intraday trading after the company reported strong third-quarter results.

So what: For the quarter, total revenue of $180.9 million was down from 2010, but above the $177.2 million that Wall Street analysts were expecting. Operating income for the quarter dropped 7%, but lower financing costs and income from investments helped push earnings per share up 33% to $0.24. Analysts were looking for $0.18 in per-share profit.

Now what: Sinclair also provided some hopeful news for the future. Near-term, the company expects the fourth quarter to go well as it's seeing strong performance from auto and political ad spending. Looking longer term, the company also announced that it's spending $385 million to buy the broadcast assets of Freedom Communications, a deal that will give it eight stations in seven markets and provide a strong presence in the West Palm Beach, Fla., market.

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