The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Short Interest Up 21.0% in January

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 201,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marcus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Marcus by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,481,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,845,000 after purchasing an additional 24,325 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Marcus by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,440,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,980,000 after buying an additional 8,102 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Marcus by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 736,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,837,000 after buying an additional 139,577 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Marcus by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 599,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,881,000 after buying an additional 246,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marcus by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after buying an additional 7,320 shares during the last quarter. 81.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Marcus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Marcus Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCS stock traded down $0.10 on Monday, reaching $22.04. 140,472 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 163,523. The company has a market capitalization of $693.82 million, a P/E ratio of -64.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.53. Marcus has a 12-month low of $9.56 and a 12-month high of $23.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.30.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

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

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.