Contrasting Marcus (MCS) & The Competition

Marcus (NYSE:MCS) is one of 184 publicly-traded companies in the “Entertainment” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Marcus to similar businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Marcus and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marcus	$758.46 million	$12.69 million	34.53
Marcus Competitors	$10.37 billion	$73.91 million	-1.15

Marcus’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Marcus. Marcus is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Marcus pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marcus pays out 45.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Entertainment” companies pay a dividend yield of 15.9% and pay out 78.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Marcus has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Marcus and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marcus	0	2	4	0	2.67
Marcus Competitors	1881	4516	9639	257	2.51

Marcus presently has a consensus target price of $32.25, suggesting a potential upside of 18.24%. As a group, “Entertainment” companies have a potential upside of 15.76%. Given Marcus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Marcus is more favorable than its peers.

Risk and Volatility

Marcus has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marcus’ peers have a beta of 1.00, meaning that their average stock price is 0% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.6% of Marcus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.0% of shares of all “Entertainment” companies are held by institutional investors. 16.5% of Marcus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 23.6% of shares of all “Entertainment” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Marcus and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marcus	3.08%	3.84%	1.75%
Marcus Competitors	11.06%	-24.56%	-2.20%

Summary

Marcus beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About Marcus

Marcus Corporation is a Milwaukee-based entertainment and hospitality company founded in 1935. It operates through Marcus Theatres, which runs movie theaters in the United States, and Marcus Hotels & Resorts, which owns and manages hotels and resorts. Marcus Theatres offers movie screenings and related guest experiences, while Marcus Hotels & Resorts provides lodging, dining, meeting and event services. The company’s operations are concentrated in the United States, particularly the Midwest.