The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS) Short Interest Down 38.4% in December

The Marcus Co. (NYSE:MCS - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 549,700 shares, a decline of 38.4% from the November 30th total of 891,700 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 306,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MCS shares. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Marcus in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Benchmark upped their target price on Marcus from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Marcus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Marcus Price Performance

Shares of MCS traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,452. Marcus has a fifty-two week low of $9.56 and a fifty-two week high of $23.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $674.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -62.97, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Marcus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Marcus's dividend payout ratio is currently -82.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Marcus news, VP Thomas F. Kissinger sold 8,000 shares of Marcus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.31, for a total transaction of $178,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 186,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,162,711.35. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marcus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marcus during the second quarter valued at $30,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Marcus during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Marcus by 53.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Marcus by 98.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,709 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Marcus in the third quarter worth approximately $159,000. 81.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.