Petrus Trust Company LTA Buys New Holdings in Marcus Corporation (The) $MCS

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has acquired a new stake in Marcus Corporation, purchasing 55,135 shares valued at approximately $920,000, representing about 0.17% of the company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Marcus, with B. Riley setting a "buy" rating and a $24 price target, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold," but overall, consensus is a "Buy" rating.
• Marcus Corporation has recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share, reflecting a 2.1% yield, up from the previous $0.07.

Petrus Trust Company LTA bought a new stake in Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $920,000. Petrus Trust Company LTA owned 0.17% of Marcus at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Marcus by 2,908.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marcus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Marcus by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in Marcus in the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Marcus in the fourth quarter valued at $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCS. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research report on Monday, August 4th. B. Riley began coverage on shares of Marcus in a report on Friday, May 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marcus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Marcus in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $24.50.

Marcus Stock Performance

Marcus stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $16.07. 247,082 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 207,411. Marcus Corporation has a twelve month low of $14.13 and a twelve month high of $23.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.69. The firm has a market cap of $503.15 million, a PE ratio of 35.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.22.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.04. Marcus had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $206.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $192.79 million. Equities analysts predict that Marcus Corporation will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Marcus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Marcus's payout ratio is presently 71.11%.

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.