NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. are falling by 4.08% to $19.52 in pre-market trading on Thursday morning, following the company's 2014 fourth quarter earnings results which showed the animals for entertainment theme park operator is still facing backlash from allegations the company mistreats the animals in its care. SeaWorld's park attendance fell 2.2% in the most recent quarter when compared to the 2013 fourth quarter. Last quarter the company posted a 5.2% drop in attendance when compared to the year ago third quarter. The company posted a wider than expected adjusted net loss of 21 cents per diluted share for the quarter compared to an adjusted net loss of 11 cents per diluted share for the same period last year. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 Analysts were expecting a loss of 16 cents per share for the quarter. SeaWorld noted that due to the seasonal nature of its business "the company typically generates its highest revenues during the second and third quarters of each year and historically incurs a net loss in the first and fourth quarters." Total revenue for the 2014 fourth quarter was $264.5 million, a 3% decline when compared to the year ago fourth quarter. SeaWorld is still fighting against the backlash caused by the controversial 2013 documentary "Blackfish" which chronicles the life of one of the company's start attractions, a 12,000 pound killer whale named Tilikum. Tilikum has been implicated in the deaths of three people, most recently the February 2010 death of a veteran SeaWorld Orlando trainer who was working with the massive predator when he suddenly grabbed and pulled the woman into his tank. The film alleges that prolonged captivity causes these animals to lash out violently. While the company has called the allegations in the film false, SeaWorld has lost business partnerships and the company's CEO has stepped down in the wake of the controversy caused by the film.Critics of the film call it too one sided and say it ignores SeaWorld's history of rescuing and releasing injured animals. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates SEAWORLD ENTERTAINMENT INC as a Sell with a ratings score of D. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate SEAWORLD ENTERTAINMENT INC (SEAS) a SELL. This is driven by a few notable weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its unimpressive growth in net income, generally high debt management risk, weak operating cash flow, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share." You can view the full analysis from the report here: SEAS Ratings Report SEAS data by YCharts
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