United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Stock Price Up 11.9% – Here’s What Happened

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS)’s share price rose 11.9% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $33.98 and last traded at $34.4660. Approximately 99,667 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 914,968 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRKS. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of United Parks & Resorts from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $51.00 target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on United Parks & Resorts from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Parks & Resorts from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.40.

United Parks & Resorts Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.82 and a 200 day moving average of $38.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.22.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.67 by ($0.33). United Parks & Resorts had a negative return on equity of 27.85% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $483.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $492.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Parks & Resorts Inc. will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parks & Resorts

In other United Parks & Resorts news, insider James W. Forrester, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.71, for a total transaction of $41,066.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $954,635.43. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher L. Finazzo sold 6,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.20, for a total transaction of $292,692.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 123,663 shares in the company, valued at $5,465,904.60. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the second quarter worth $171,560,000. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,094,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the second quarter worth about $26,222,000. Engine Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,784,000 after acquiring an additional 178,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,733,000.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts Inc (NYSE: PRKS) is a theme park and entertainment company that owns and operates a portfolio of destination amusement and water parks in the United States. Its properties combine rides, live entertainment, animal exhibits, educational experiences, seasonal events and hospitality-related offerings.

The company’s portfolio includes SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego; Busch Gardens parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Virginia; Sesame Place parks in Pennsylvania and California; and water parks and attractions such as Aquatica, Adventure Island, Water Country USA and Discovery Cove.