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

Shares of Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.75.

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCS. Zacks Research upgraded 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 set a $25.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marcus in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Marcus from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th.

Institutional Trading of Marcus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Marcus by 550.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Marcus by 60.2% in 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 last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Marcus by 45.3% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 2,057 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Marcus by 38.6% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marcus in the 2nd quarter worth $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Price Performance

Shares of Marcus stock opened at $15.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $476.80 million, a PE ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marcus has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $23.16.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 4.28%. Sell-side analysts predict that Marcus will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

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

Marcus announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Marcus

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.