Marcus (NYSE:MCS) Raised to Strong-Buy at B. Riley

B. Riley upgraded shares of Marcus (NYSE:MCS) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MCS. StockNews.com cut Marcus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Marcus Stock Performance

Shares of MCS opened at $17.10 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $543.00 million, a PE ratio of -50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.37. Marcus has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $23.16.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $148.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.50 million. Marcus had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 1.39%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Marcus will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio is -66.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marcus

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCS. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Marcus by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 172,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Marcus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $530,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Marcus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $299,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in Marcus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $920,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Marcus by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 392,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,553,000 after purchasing an additional 39,118 shares during the period. 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.