RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on RICK. TheStreet downgraded RCI Hospitality from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of RCI Hospitality in a research report on Monday, February 12th.

RCI Hospitality Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RICK opened at $54.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.64. RCI Hospitality has a 1 year low of $50.43 and a 1 year high of $79.46. The company has a market capitalization of $512.65 million, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.65.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The restaurant operator reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.06). RCI Hospitality had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $73.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. RCI Hospitality’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that RCI Hospitality will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

RCI Hospitality Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. RCI Hospitality’s payout ratio is 8.60%.

Insider Activity at RCI Hospitality

In other news, CEO Eric Scott Langan purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $54.54 per share, for a total transaction of $54,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 703,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,341,620. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RCI Hospitality

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in RCI Hospitality in the 1st quarter valued at about $459,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in RCI Hospitality by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in RCI Hospitality in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,024,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in RCI Hospitality by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 548,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,705,000 after buying an additional 13,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd purchased a new position in RCI Hospitality in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 53.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.