Short Interest in The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Declines By 21.3%

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 623,900 shares, a drop of 21.3% from the February 28th total of 793,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 213,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Marcus in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Marcus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Marcus Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE MCS opened at $16.56 on Monday. Marcus has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $23.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $525.76 million, a PE ratio of -48.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.57.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Marcus’s payout ratio is currently -107.69%.

Institutional Trading of Marcus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCS. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Marcus by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 599,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,881,000 after acquiring an additional 246,375 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Marcus by 135.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 392,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,913,000 after purchasing an additional 225,644 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Marcus by 303.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 257,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 193,400 shares during the last quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marcus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,258,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marcus by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 736,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,837,000 after buying an additional 139,577 shares during the last quarter. 81.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.