Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.75.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Marcus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a report on Friday, October 31st. Benchmark cut their price objective on Marcus from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marcus in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush started coverage on Marcus in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company.

Marcus Price Performance

Shares of MCS stock opened at $15.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. Marcus has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $23.16. The firm has a market cap of $472.83 million, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.02.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $210.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.14 million. Marcus had a return on equity of 4.28% and a net margin of 1.91%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Marcus will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Marcus declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Marcus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marcus by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,500,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,040,000 after acquiring an additional 59,336 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in shares of Marcus by 9.1% during the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,375,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,185,000 after purchasing an additional 114,556 shares in the last quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marcus by 4.4% during the first quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,063,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,746,000 after purchasing an additional 44,621 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marcus by 3.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 872,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 27,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 820,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,925 shares in the last quarter. 81.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Marcus Company Profile

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.