Short Interest in RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK) Expands By 24.6%

RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RICK) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 925,600 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the June 30th total of 742,700 shares. Approximately 11.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 101,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.1 days.

RCI Hospitality Stock Performance

Shares of RCI Hospitality stock traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $49.00. 5,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 74,055. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. RCI Hospitality has a twelve month low of $37.61 and a twelve month high of $70.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $456.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.71.

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The restaurant operator reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by ($0.73). RCI Hospitality had a return on equity of 6.80% and a net margin of 6.46%. The firm had revenue of $72.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.12 million. Analysts anticipate that RCI Hospitality will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RCI Hospitality Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. RCI Hospitality’s payout ratio is 11.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered RCI Hospitality from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of RCI Hospitality in a research note on Friday, July 12th.

Insider Activity at RCI Hospitality

In other news, Director Johnson Martin Elaine acquired 842 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.05 per share, for a total transaction of $40,458.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,992.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RICK. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its stake in shares of RCI Hospitality by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 373,136 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,642,000 after buying an additional 153,561 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of RCI Hospitality during the 4th quarter worth approximately $910,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of RCI Hospitality by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 475,370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,836,000 after buying an additional 10,411 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of RCI Hospitality by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,733 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 5,432 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 during the period. 53.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.