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

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.75.

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

Institutional Trading of Marcus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Marcus by 60.2% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Marcus by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Marcus by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 2,424 shares during the period. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Marcus during the 2nd quarter valued at $180,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Marcus in the 2nd quarter worth $199,000. Institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MCS opened at $15.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.83 million, a PE ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.00. 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 52-week low of $12.85 and a 52-week high of $23.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.74 and a 200 day moving average of $16.02.

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

Marcus announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

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.