Brokerages Set Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) Price Target at $23.50

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on MCS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barrington Research lowered their target price on Marcus from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marcus in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marcus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,395,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Marcus by 94.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 108,771 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Marcus by 332.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 162,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 124,664 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Marcus by 113.3% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 52,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 28,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Marcus by 2,963.8% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 34,647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Stock Performance

Shares of MCS opened at $15.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.56 and a 200-day moving average of $15.24. The company has a market cap of $485.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. Marcus has a 1 year low of $12.85 and a 1 year high of $21.39.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Marcus’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Marcus announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.