Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday . 232,764 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the previous session’s volume of 224,590 shares.The stock last traded at $28.57 and had previously closed at $28.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GDEN. Weiss Ratings cut Golden Entertainment from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Golden Entertainment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golden Entertainment currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.75.

Golden Entertainment Trading Down 0.2%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $751.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.88 and a beta of 1.40.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $155.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.61 million. Golden Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 0.51% and a negative net margin of 0.95%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Golden Entertainment, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 18th. Golden Entertainment’s payout ratio is -400.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GDEN. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 34,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 6,498 shares during the period. Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Golden Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 160.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 95,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 58,679 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 159.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 127,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 78,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Golden Entertainment in the 2nd quarter valued at about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.73% of the company’s stock.

Golden Entertainment Company Profile

Golden Entertainment, Inc is a diversified gaming and hospitality company that operates in the casino, tavern-casino and slot route markets. The company’s core activities encompass the ownership and management of full-service resort casinos, a portfolio of branded neighborhood tavern-casinos and a large slot distribution network. Headquartered in Summerlin, Nevada, Golden Entertainment serves leisure and local gaming customers across multiple Western U.S. markets.

In its casino and tavern-casino segment, Golden Entertainment owns and operates properties such as Bronco Billy’s Casino & Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado, along with a collection of PT’s branded venues throughout Southern Nevada.