United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.54 and last traded at $59.85, with a volume of 157238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PRKS shares. Mizuho reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on United Parks & Resorts from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on United Parks & Resorts from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on United Parks & Resorts from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.60.

United Parks & Resorts Trading Up 2.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 2.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.33.

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $545.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.47 million. United Parks & Resorts had a net margin of 13.85% and a negative return on equity of 76.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that United Parks & Resorts Inc. will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Parks & Resorts

In other news, Director Yoshikazu Maruyama sold 12,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $650,108.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,766 shares in the company, valued at $2,091,223.62. This trade represents a 23.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Mikolaichik purchased 34,000 shares of United Parks & Resorts stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $57.29 per share, for a total transaction of $1,947,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,369,336.43. The trade was a 80.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $739,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $390,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $16,862,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $411,000.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States. It operates and licenses SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and San Diego, California, as well as Busch Gardens theme parks in Tampa, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia.