Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 60,000 MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,079,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MGM. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in MGM Resorts International by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 19,920,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $690,253,000 after purchasing an additional 882,417 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MGM Resorts International by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,785,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,462,000 after buying an additional 1,063,707 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in MGM Resorts International by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,233,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,048,000 after buying an additional 1,090,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in MGM Resorts International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,033,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in MGM Resorts International by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,315,748 shares of the company's stock worth $80,241,000 after buying an additional 303,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.11% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jonathan S. Halkyard bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.17 per share, for a total transaction of $321,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,433,596.16. This trade represents a 15.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Todd Meinert sold 6,000 shares of MGM Resorts International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.84, for a total value of $227,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 18,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $692,509.84. The trade was a 24.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,261 shares of company stock worth $1,788,007 over the last three months. 3.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MGM Resorts International Stock Down 0.9%

MGM traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $33.65. The company had a trading volume of 738,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,738,531. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $30.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.74. MGM Resorts International has a 52 week low of $25.30 and a 52 week high of $47.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.78.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.19. MGM Resorts International had a net margin of 4.33% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. MGM Resorts International's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that MGM Resorts International will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGM Resorts International declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 22.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MGM shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of MGM Resorts International from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MGM Resorts International in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BTIG Research lowered MGM Resorts International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna Bancshares upped their price target on MGM Resorts International from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on MGM Resorts International from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.94.

MGM Resorts International Profile

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casino, hotel, and entertainment resorts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Las Vegas Strip Resorts, Regional Operations, and MGM China. Its casino resorts offer gaming, hotel, convention, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities.