Brokerages Set Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) Price Target at $24.50

Key Points

• Marcus Corporation has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" by five research firms, with an average twelve-month target price of $24.50.
• Recent institutional trading highlights include a significant 2,908.9% increase in holdings by Lazard Asset Management and new stakes purchased by other investors, indicating strong institutional interest.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share, marking a boost from the previous $0.07, with a current annual yield of 2.0%.

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCS. Wedbush initiated coverage on Marcus in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Marcus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday.

Marcus Stock Performance

MCS traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.69. 419,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 214,718. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $491.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Marcus has a 1-year low of $14.13 and a 1-year high of $23.16.

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

Marcus Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a positive change from Marcus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Marcus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marcus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCS. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 332.2% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 162,193 shares of the company's stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 124,664 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 60.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,494 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,375,121 shares of the company's stock worth $23,185,000 after acquiring an additional 114,556 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 61,165 shares of the company's stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 19,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 63,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 13,779 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.57% of the company's stock.

Marcus Company Profile

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.