Short Interest in RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK) Rises By 24.6%

RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 925,600 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the June 30th total of 742,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 101,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.1 days. Approximately 11.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

RCI Hospitality Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of RICK stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.22. The company had a trading volume of 63,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,417. RCI Hospitality has a 12 month low of $37.61 and a 12 month high of $71.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.88. The company has a market cap of $439.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.73). The business had revenue of $72.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.12 million. RCI Hospitality had a return on equity of 6.80% and a net margin of 6.46%. On average, research analysts expect that RCI Hospitality will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RCI Hospitality Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. RCI Hospitality’s payout ratio is 11.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at RCI Hospitality

In related news, Director Johnson Martin Elaine purchased 842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.05 per share, with a total value of $40,458.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 9,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $476,992.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RICK. Progeny 3 Inc. increased its holdings in RCI Hospitality by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 373,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,642,000 after purchasing an additional 153,561 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of RCI Hospitality during the 4th quarter worth approximately $910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,836,000 after acquiring an additional 10,411 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,733 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 5,432 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RICK has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered RCI Hospitality from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of RCI Hospitality in a report on Friday, July 12th.

RCI Hospitality Company Profile

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.