The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 726,500 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the January 15th total of 600,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 201,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Marcus

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCS. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marcus during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Marcus during the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Marcus by 98.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Marcus by 407,500.0% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 4,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Marcus during the fourth quarter valued at $114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCS. StockNews.com raised shares of Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Marcus Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCS traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.04. 140,472 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 163,523. The firm has a market cap of $693.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.22. Marcus has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $23.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio is currently -82.35%.

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.