Franklin Resources Inc. Takes $246,000 Position in United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS)

Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PRKS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PRKS. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in United Parks & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PRKS. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a report on Monday, October 7th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (down previously from $45.00) on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on United Parks & Resorts from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.60.

Insider Activity at United Parks & Resorts

In other news, insider Christopher L. Finazzo sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $723,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 132,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,366,257.18. The trade was a 8.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James Mikolaichik purchased 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $57.29 per share, with a total value of $1,947,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,369,336.43. This trade represents a 80.44 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Parks & Resorts Stock Up 0.5 %

PRKS stock opened at $56.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 2.00. United Parks & Resorts Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.72 and a twelve month high of $60.83.

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

United Parks & Resorts Profile

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.