The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Short Interest Down 23.4% in October

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, a decline of 23.4% from the September 30th total of 1,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 366,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCS shares. Benchmark raised their price target on Marcus from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a report on Friday, September 20th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Marcus from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Marcus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th.

Marcus Price Performance

Shares of MCS stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.66. The company had a trading volume of 175,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,820. Marcus has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $16.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.42 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.90.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.20). Marcus had a negative net margin of 3.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $176.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Marcus will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marcus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Marcus by 35.7% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 21,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 5,640 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Marcus by 133.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 436,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,227,000 after purchasing an additional 250,019 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Marcus by 221.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 10,454 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Marcus by 138.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 27,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 15,972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Marcus in the first quarter worth $173,000. 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.