RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK) Short Interest Down 18.6% in March

RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 469,900 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the March 15th total of 577,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 69,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on RICK. StockNews.com raised RCI Hospitality from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of RCI Hospitality in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Institutional Trading of RCI Hospitality

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 196,913 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $8,772,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of RCI Hospitality by 1,839.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 155,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,938,000 after buying an additional 147,508 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 104,930 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,030,000 after buying an additional 40,822 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in RCI Hospitality by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,070 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,912,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in RCI Hospitality by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 65,654 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 14,919 shares during the period. 53.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

RCI Hospitality Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ RICK traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.20. 22,323 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.92. RCI Hospitality has a 1 year low of $35.00 and a 1 year high of $61.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $44.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.83. The company has a market capitalization of $356.45 million, a P/E ratio of 71.79 and a beta of 1.45.

RCI Hospitality Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. RCI Hospitality's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

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.