Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reduced their target price on shares of Golden Entertainment from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Golden Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GDEN opened at $29.79 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $787.50 million, a PE ratio of 24.02 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Golden Entertainment has a 1-year low of $22.66 and a 1-year high of $35.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.22.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $160.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.37 million. Golden Entertainment had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 5.23%. Research analysts predict that Golden Entertainment will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is 256.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 1.7% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 26,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 0.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 109,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 0.3% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 173,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,565,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 7,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.73% of the company’s stock.

Golden Entertainment Company Profile

Golden Entertainment, Inc owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations.