Loop Capital Questions Regal Entertainment's Hesitation To Enter Foreign Markets

Loop Capital's David Miller is wondering why
Regal Entertainment GroupRGC
is hesitant to enter into the "underserved" foreign markets, especially given the strong demand for American-style tent-pole films and the U.S. box office being a mature business.

"Given RGC's notable propensity to generate cash, and given that, arguably, the company is still somewhat under-levered, we continue to be struck by RGC's hesitancy in attempting to expand overseas," Miller wrote in a note.

That said, the U.S. box office has actually been a fairly steady performer over the past 10–15 years. Miller said the US box office set to end the third quarter up 12 percent, driven by movies such as "Finding Dory," "Jason Bourne," "Legend of Tarzan," "The Secret Life of Pets" and "Suicide Squad."

Related Link: Wedbush Previews Regal's Q3 Box Office, Highlights 2 Key Drivers

As such, the analyst raised his third-quarter non-GAAP EPS estimate for Regal to $0.28 from $0.20, while the consensus estimate is $0.21.

Miller maintains his Hold rating on Regal with a price target of $22, saying "even though shares of competitor AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC have rallied 21.1 percent since the end of June, we still have RGC trading slightly ahead of AMC."

Shares of Regal Entertainment closed Friday's trading at $21.56. At time of writing Monday, shares were down 0.83 percent at $21.38.

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Posted In: Analyst ColorNewsPrice TargetReiterationAnalyst RatingsMoversTechMediaDavid MillerLoop Capital
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