Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.25.

MCS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Barrington Research set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Marcus from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush increased their target price on Marcus from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, B. Riley Financial cut Marcus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st.

Marcus Price Performance

MCS stock opened at $30.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. Marcus has a 1 year low of $12.85 and a 1 year high of $32.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.55. The firm has a market cap of $926.13 million, a P/E ratio of 42.31, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.51.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.16. Marcus had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 2.87%.The firm had revenue of $231.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.72 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marcus will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This is an increase from Marcus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.07%.

Institutional Trading of Marcus

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Saber Capital Managment LLC purchased a new position in Marcus in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,836,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marcus in the fourth quarter worth about $2,594,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 915,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,205,000 after buying an additional 100,480 shares during the period. Bastion Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marcus by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. now owns 374,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,716,000 after buying an additional 154,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marcus by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,085,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,842,000 after buying an additional 70,958 shares in the last quarter. 81.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marcus

The Marcus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates movie theatres, and hotels and resorts in the United States. It operates a family entertainment center and multiscreen motion picture theatres under the Big Screen Bistro, Big Screen Bistro Express, BistroPlex, and Movie Tavern by Marcus brand names. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts.