United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.33 EPS

United Parks & Resorts (NYSE:PRKS) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by ($0.33), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $483.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.10 million. United Parks & Resorts had a negative return on equity of 27.85% and a net margin of 8.11%.United Parks & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from United Parks & Resorts’ conference call:

• Second-quarter performance weakened: Revenue fell 1.4% to $483.3 million, attendance declined 2.9%, and adjusted EBITDA decreased $10.8 million to $195.5 million, pressured by the Easter calendar shift, lower international visitation, weather, and higher operating expenses.
• Guest spending remained a bright spot. Total revenue per capita increased 1.5%, led by a 5.1% rise in in-park per-capita spending from pricing, greater product penetration, technology upgrades, and improved food, retail, photo, and catering offerings.
• July revenue was preliminarily down approximately 2% as wildfires, poor air quality, excessive heat, and extended rain reduced attendance, although admissions and in-park spending per capita increased.
• Management cited several potential catalysts, including double-digit growth in advanced bookings for Discovery Cove and group business, ahead-of-last-year Howl-O-Scream bookings, new Sony Pictures intellectual property, and a new strategy aimed at meaningfully growing the 2027 pass base.
• The company repurchased 3.3 million shares for approximately $125 million in the quarter, remains on pace for $50 million of gross cost savings in 2026, and said credible third parties are assigning real-estate valuations that compare favorably with the company’s public-market enterprise value.

United Parks & Resorts Price Performance

PRKS traded down $1.47 on Thursday, hitting $44.59. The company had a trading volume of 283,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,906. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.16. United Parks & Resorts has a 52-week low of $28.77 and a 52-week high of $56.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PRKS shares. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on United Parks & Resorts in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $55.00 price target on United Parks & Resorts in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of United Parks & Resorts from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $51.00 target price on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of United Parks & Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Parks & Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher L. Finazzo sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.76, for a total value of $294,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 130,285 shares in the company, valued at $4,789,276.60. This trade represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Parks & Resorts

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in United Parks & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Arax Advisory Partners purchased a new position in shares of United Parks & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of United Parks & Resorts in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of United Parks & Resorts by 238.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter.

About United Parks & Resorts

United Parks & Resorts, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of theme parks. Its portfolio includes SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Sesame Place, and Sea Rescue. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.