Marcus (NYSE:MCS) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marcus (NYSE:MCS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

MCS has been the subject of several other reports. Barrington Research set a $33.00 target price on shares of Marcus in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Marcus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. B. Riley Financial downgraded shares of Marcus from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Marcus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Marcus from $23.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.25.

Marcus Price Performance

NYSE MCS opened at $28.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.38 and its 200 day moving average is $23.48. Marcus has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $32.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $872.12 million, a PE ratio of 39.84 and a beta of 0.58.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.16. Marcus had a return on equity of 2.67% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business had revenue of $231.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.72 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Marcus will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Marcus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is a positive change from Marcus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marcus’s payout ratio is currently 50.70%.

Insider Activity at Marcus

In other news, Director Diane M. Gershowitz sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total transaction of $1,380,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 125,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,468,285.37. This represents a 28.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marcus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Saber Capital Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marcus during the 4th quarter valued at about $7,836,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Marcus in the second quarter worth about $6,481,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Marcus by 24.4% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 255,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,378,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marcus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $844,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Marcus by 183.1% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 47,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 30,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Company Profile

Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) is a Wisconsin-based company operating in the entertainment and lodging industries. Its business is organized primarily through Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels & Resorts, serving customers across selected markets in the United States.

Marcus Theatres operates movie theaters that offer first-run films, premium large-format and other enhanced viewing experiences, food and beverage services, and other entertainment amenities. The division also operates theaters under the Marcus, Movie Tavern, and BistroPlex brands.

Marcus Hotels & Resorts owns, manages, or develops hotels and resorts in various U.S.