Shares of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. tumbled to a record low Tuesday, as analysts panned the theme park operator’s plan to slash its dividend, and use the money saved to buy back stock.

Late Monday, SeaWorld said it was cutting its fourth-quarter dividend by more than half, to 10 cents a share from 21 cents a share. “The company expects to redeploy this additional capital to shareholders by opportunistically repurchasing the company’s shares in the open market during the remainder of 2016,” the company said in a statement.

SeaWorld said it would stop paying future dividends, until further notice.

The stock SEAS, +2.28% dropped as much as 7.2% to an all-time intraday low of $11.77 before paring losses to close down 4.5% at a record closing low of $12.12.

“Our board looked at a number of financial options, and believed that repurchasing shares at this price offered the greatest return to investors, as we noted in our press release,” the company said in an emailed statement to MarketWatch.

Analyst Tyler Batory at Janney Montgomery Scott said he believed there was a better use for the money.

“While a dividend cut is not a complete surprise, our view is that a portion of the money could be better spent reinvesting in the business and building new attractions,” Batory wrote in a note to clients.

Macquarie Research analyst Matthew Brooks, who said last month that he believed SeaWorld’s dividend was “too high,” wrote Tuesday: “We also think investing in new rides and attractions might be a better use of capital than buybacks.”

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The company has struggled to recover from the public backlash over how killer whales were treated, in the wake of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.” The stock has tumbled 31% over the past year, while shares of rivals Six Flags Entertainment Corp. SIX, +0.99% have rallied 14%, shares of Cedar Fair L.P. FUN, -1.42% have climbed 11%, and the S&P 500 SPX, +1.05% has gained 9.3%.

SeaWorld shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value since the July 11, 2013 record close of $38.92. Read more about how SeaWorld sent spies to infiltrade PETA.

Despite the recent tumble toward record lows, Janney’s Batory said he remains “cautious” on the stock, because he believes the turnaround story will take longer than expected as troubles facing the company’s Florida business offset improvements in San Diego and Texas.

“While expectations are low, we would prefer to see concrete evidence the business has turned in Florida before reassessing our rating,” Batory wrote.

Macquarie’s Brooks said the fact that SeaWorld didn’t provide earnings guidance in its dividend release, and considering the headwinds from the recent Hermine storm on its Florida business, suggests the company could cut its third-quarter outlook.

“This could be a second factor driving [SeaWorld’s stock] lower,” Brooks wrote.