Marcus (NYSE:MCS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) issued its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Marcus had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $210.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.14 million.

Marcus Trading Up 9.3%

NYSE:MCS opened at $14.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.06. Marcus has a 12-month low of $12.85 and a 12-month high of $23.16. The firm has a market cap of $452.88 million, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.02.

Marcus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marcus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marcus by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Marcus by 60.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Marcus by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 172,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Marcus by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 5,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Marcus by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 291,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after buying an additional 8,898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MCS. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Marcus in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark decreased their target price on Marcus from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised Marcus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marcus in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

Marcus declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.