The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Short Interest Update

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,710,000 shares, a decline of 26.3% from the September 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 405,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently, 7.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Marcus Stock Performance

NYSE MCS opened at $15.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Marcus has a 1 year low of $9.56 and a 1 year high of $16.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $511.91 million, a PE ratio of 66.33 and a beta of 1.52.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $176.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.74 million. Marcus had a negative net margin of 3.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Marcus will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marcus

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCS. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marcus by 83.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after buying an additional 294,593 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Marcus by 133.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 436,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,227,000 after purchasing an additional 250,019 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Marcus by 71.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 442,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,036,000 after purchasing an additional 183,909 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Marcus by 35.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 231,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,638,000 after purchasing an additional 60,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marcus in the 2nd quarter worth about $539,000. 81.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MCS. Benchmark upped their price objective on Marcus from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised Marcus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Marcus from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th.

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.