RCI Hospitality’s (RICK) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $98.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded RCI Hospitality from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

RCI Hospitality Trading Up 8.0 %

RCI Hospitality stock opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. RCI Hospitality has a 12-month low of $37.61 and a 12-month high of $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.18 million, a PE ratio of 96.87 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.27.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($1.27). The business had revenue of $76.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.79 million. RCI Hospitality had a return on equity of 1.76% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that RCI Hospitality will post 0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RCI Hospitality Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.07 dividend. This is an increase from RCI Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. RCI Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RCI Hospitality

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in RCI Hospitality by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 502,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,118,000 after purchasing an additional 9,218 shares during the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 460,968 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,080,000 after acquiring an additional 87,832 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in RCI Hospitality by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,644,000 after acquiring an additional 4,126 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in RCI Hospitality by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 10,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in RCI Hospitality by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.82% of the company’s stock.

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.