Dark Forest Capital Management LP Purchases 66,538 Shares of United Parks & Resorts Inc. $PRKS

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP significantly increased its stake in United Parks & Resorts by 326.1% in Q1, adding over 66,500 shares to reach a total of 86,943 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million.
• United Parks & Resorts reported earnings of $1.45 EPS for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $1.76 EPS, with a corresponding revenue of $490.21 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on PRKS, with an average price target of $56.91, reflecting five "Buy" ratings, six "Hold" ratings, and one "Sell" rating.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS - Free Report) by 326.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,943 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 66,538 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned 0.16% of United Parks & Resorts worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its holdings in United Parks & Resorts by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 106,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,819,000 after buying an additional 48,935 shares in the last quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in United Parks & Resorts by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Contrarian Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 21,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in United Parks & Resorts by 158.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 22,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 13,772 shares in the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 311,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,212,000 after purchasing an additional 39,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,121,000.

United Parks & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of PRKS stock traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.06. 358,784 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,207. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.42. United Parks & Resorts Inc. has a one year low of $37.68 and a one year high of $60.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.34.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.31). United Parks & Resorts had a negative return on equity of 47.59% and a net margin of 12.39%.The business had revenue of $490.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $505.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parks & Resorts Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Parks & Resorts declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRKS. Zacks Research raised United Parks & Resorts from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on United Parks & Resorts from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $74.00 to $67.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on United Parks & Resorts from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on United Parks & Resorts from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, United Parks & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.73.

United Parks & Resorts Profile

United Parks & Resorts, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of theme parks. Its portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and Sea Rescue. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.