Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) "Equal Weight" Rating Reiterated at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays reiterated its "equal weight" rating on Caesars Entertainment but cut its price target to $31 from $35, implying only modest upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock has an average "Hold" rating, with 3 Buy ratings, 14 Hold ratings, and 2 Sell ratings, and a consensus price target of $32.27.
• Caesars recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS expectations while slightly beating revenue estimates; the company also saw notable insider selling and heavy ownership by institutional investors.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating restated by stock analysts at Barclays in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $31.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $35.00. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.96% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Caesars Entertainment from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Caesars Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.27.

Caesars Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of CZR opened at $29.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 1.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $28.84 and its 200-day moving average is $26.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25. Caesars Entertainment has a 12 month low of $17.86 and a 12 month high of $31.58.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.24). Caesars Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 7.88% and a negative net margin of 4.19%.The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.54) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Caesars Entertainment

In other Caesars Entertainment news, Director Michael E. Pegram sold 55,000 shares of Caesars Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.20, for a total transaction of $1,606,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edmund L. Quatmann, Jr. sold 81,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $2,393,962.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 18,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,019.05. This represents a 81.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 293,463 shares of company stock valued at $8,609,241. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CZR. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,297 shares of the company's stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 12,698 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Caesars Entertainment by 8.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Caesars Entertainment by 106.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,599,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,982,000 after buying an additional 826,356 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,952 shares of the company's stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 5,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 0.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 506,585 shares of the company's stock worth $12,665,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. 91.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a leading integrated gaming and hospitality company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company owns and operates a global portfolio of resorts, casinos, and entertainment venues designed to deliver comprehensive hospitality experiences. Its business activities span hotel accommodations, gaming operations, food and beverage services, live events, and convention services, with a focus on delivering luxury and entertainment to both leisure and business travelers.

The company traces its lineage to the founding of Harrah's by William F.

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