RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) Earns “Buy” Rating from HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reissued their buy rating on shares of RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $98.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded RCI Hospitality from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st.

RCI Hospitality Stock Performance

RICK opened at $46.65 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.89. The company has a market capitalization of $419.85 million, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.56. RCI Hospitality has a 1 year low of $37.61 and a 1 year high of $69.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The restaurant operator reported ($0.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($1.27). The firm had revenue of $76.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.79 million. RCI Hospitality had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 1.76%. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that RCI Hospitality will post 0.69 EPS for the current year.

RCI Hospitality Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from RCI Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. RCI Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RCI Hospitality

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 502,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,118,000 after buying an additional 9,218 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 460,968 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,080,000 after buying an additional 87,832 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,704 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,644,000 after buying an additional 4,126 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 51,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,250,000 after buying an additional 10,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of RCI Hospitality by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,101,000 after buying an additional 6,174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 53.82% of the company’s stock.

About RCI Hospitality

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.