Marcus (NYSE:MCS) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Marcus (NYSE:MCS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Marcus from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Marcus in a research report on Monday, May 4th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Marcus from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Marcus from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marcus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.25.

Marcus Stock Performance

Marcus stock opened at $23.20 on Tuesday. Marcus has a 12-month low of $12.85 and a 12-month high of $24.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $713.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.65.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by $0.03. Marcus had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 0.79%. The company had revenue of $154.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.78 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Marcus will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael Reade Evans sold 7,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.04, for a total value of $146,055.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $872,051.04. The trade was a 14.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCS. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marcus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Marcus by 550.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Marcus by 60.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Marcus by 656.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 5,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 4,999 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Marcus by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 4,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

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. 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.