Brokerages Set Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) Target Price at $23.50

Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCS shares. Barrington Research reduced their price objective on shares of Marcus from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marcus in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marcus

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in Marcus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Marcus during the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Marcus during the 4th quarter worth $314,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Marcus by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 136,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 10,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Marcus by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 105,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 55,911 shares in the last quarter. 81.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marcus Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCS opened at $16.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.04 million, a PE ratio of 68.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.23. Marcus has a fifty-two week low of $12.85 and a fifty-two week high of $21.73.

Marcus declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

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. The company also owns and operates full-service hotels and resorts, as well as manages full-service hotels, resorts, and other properties. In addition, it provides hospitality management services, including check-in, housekeeping, and maintenance for a vacation ownership development; and manages condominium hotels under long-term management contracts.