RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RICK) Short Interest Down 25.9% in March

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:RICK) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 895,884 shares, a decline of 25.9% from the March 15th total of 1,209,464 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 112,443 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.0 days. Approximately 12.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of RCI Hospitality

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,684 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 10,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 41,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,046 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 14,759 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 8,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of RCI Hospitality during the fourth quarter worth about $364,000. 53.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of RCI Hospitality in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

RCI Hospitality Trading Down 0.1%

RICK traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 35,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,315. RCI Hospitality has a fifty-two week low of $20.76 and a fifty-two week high of $47.00. The stock has a market cap of $190.05 million, a PE ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.01 and its 200-day moving average is $24.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.63) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($2.44). RCI Hospitality had a return on equity of 4.05% and a net margin of 3.87%.The firm had revenue of $70.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RCI Hospitality will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RCI Hospitality Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This is a boost from RCI Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. RCI Hospitality’s payout ratio is 26.67%.

RCI Hospitality Company Profile

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc operates as a diversified hospitality and entertainment company focused on the ownership and operation of adult nightclubs and themed sports bars throughout the United States and select international markets. The company’s U.S. Nightclub segment includes venues branded as Rick’s Cabaret, Club Onyx and various other upscale adult entertainment clubs, offering private dance experiences, VIP services and live performances. Its Restaurant & Bar segment operates Bombshells, a brunch-themed sports bar chain featuring chef-driven menus, craft cocktails and game-day viewing in a military-inspired setting.

In addition to its brick-and-mortar venues, RCI Hospitality deploys proprietary digital platforms for talent recruitment, training and scheduling, helping to streamline operations and drive customer engagement.