Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 108,771 Shares of Marcus Corporation (The) $MCS

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Marcus Corporation (The) (NYSE:MCS) by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,886 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,771 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.72% of Marcus worth $3,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCS. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Marcus in the first quarter valued at about $249,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Marcus during the first quarter worth approximately $745,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Marcus by 94.4% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 12,051 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Marcus by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Marcus in the 1st quarter worth approximately $548,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.57% of the company’s stock.

Marcus Stock Performance

Shares of Marcus stock opened at $15.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $476.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.00. Marcus Corporation has a 52 week low of $12.85 and a 52 week high of $23.16.

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Marcus had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $210.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.14 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Marcus Corporation will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Marcus announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Marcus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Marcus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCS. Benchmark dropped their price target on Marcus from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wedbush assumed coverage on Marcus in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Marcus in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Marcus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Marcus in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

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.