Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target on Six Flags from $27 to $25 but kept an "overweight" rating, with the new target implying about a 51.6% upside from the current share price.
• Shares fell roughly 8.5% to $16.49 after the company reported a shock quarterly loss of ($11.77) EPS vs. $2.24 expected and slightly missed revenue, while showing negative margins and returns.
• Analysts are split—market consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $31.07 (8 Buys, 4 Holds, 2 Sells)—and investors face balance-sheet risks, including a high debt-to-equity ratio (2.97) and weak liquidity (current ratio 0.52).

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Barclays from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 51.61% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on FUN. Guggenheim set a $43.00 price objective on Six Flags Entertainment and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Six Flags Entertainment from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Six Flags Entertainment in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Six Flags Entertainment from $60.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $28.00 target price on Six Flags Entertainment in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.07.

Six Flags Entertainment Trading Down 8.5%

FUN stock traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $16.49. The company had a trading volume of 4,110,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,796,761. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.16. Six Flags Entertainment has a 52 week low of $16.55 and a 52 week high of $49.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported ($11.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($14.01). Six Flags Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 1.00% and a negative net margin of 14.92%.The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. Six Flags Entertainment's revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Six Flags Entertainment will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Six Flags Entertainment by 0.9% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 39,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Six Flags Entertainment by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 27,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Six Flags Entertainment by 4.4% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 9,801 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Six Flags Entertainment by 1.2% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 35,141 shares of the company's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Six Flags Entertainment by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,527 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.65% of the company's stock.

About Six Flags Entertainment

Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St.

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