RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $98.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of RCI Hospitality from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st.

RCI Hospitality Trading Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ RICK opened at $45.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. RCI Hospitality has a 52 week low of $37.61 and a 52 week high of $69.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.88. The company has a market cap of $410.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.56.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($1.27). RCI Hospitality had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $76.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.79 million. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that RCI Hospitality will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RCI Hospitality Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.07 dividend. This is a positive change from RCI Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. RCI Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RCI Hospitality

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RICK. Progeny 3 Inc. lifted its position in shares of RCI Hospitality by 69.9% during the first quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 373,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,642,000 after purchasing an additional 153,561 shares in the last quarter. DHK Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of RCI Hospitality during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,699,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of RCI Hospitality during the 4th quarter worth approximately $910,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 24.8% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 10,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 502,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,118,000 after acquiring an additional 9,218 shares in the last quarter. 53.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About RCI Hospitality

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the hospitality and related businesses in the United States. It operates in Nightclubs, Bombshells, and Media Group segments. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries own and/or operates upscale adult nightclubs serving primarily businessmen and professionals under the Rick's Cabaret, Jaguars Club, Tootsie's Cabaret, XTC Cabaret, Club Onyx, Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar, Scarlett's Cabaret, Temptations Adult Cabaret, Foxy's Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, Downtown Cabaret, Cabaret East, The Seville, Silver City Cabaret, and Kappa Men's Club.