United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $47.8182.

PRKS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Parks & Resorts from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $38.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th.

United Parks & Resorts Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of PRKS stock opened at $44.78 on Tuesday. United Parks & Resorts has a 12 month low of $28.77 and a 12 month high of $56.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.17.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by ($0.33). United Parks & Resorts had a negative return on equity of 35.46% and a net margin of 9.09%.The business had revenue of $278.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that United Parks & Resorts will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at United Parks & Resorts

In other news, insider Christopher L. Finazzo sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total transaction of $294,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 130,285 shares in the company, valued at $4,789,276.60. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Parks & Resorts

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRKS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in United Parks & Resorts by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 58.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 678,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,859,000 after buying an additional 251,522 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 3.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 102,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after buying an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts in the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 5.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 77,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,209 shares during the last quarter.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of theme parks. Its portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and Sea Rescue. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.