ING Groep NV Increases Holdings in Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has increased its stake in Caesars Entertainment, Inc. by 69.6%, now holding 1,816,931 shares worth approximately $45.4 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Capital Research Global Investors and DAVENPORT & Co LLC, have also significantly raised their positions in Caesars Entertainment during the last quarter.
• Caesars reported a loss of ($0.39) EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, but achieved revenues of $2.91 billion, surpassing expectations of $2.85 billion.

ING Groep NV grew its position in Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR - Free Report) by 69.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,816,931 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 745,793 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned about 0.87% of Caesars Entertainment worth $45,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 64.4% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,034 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd bought a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 97.8% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,339 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Caesars Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 91.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CZR. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Caesars Entertainment from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Cfra restated a "hold" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.47.

Caesars Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of CZR stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,379,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,546,589. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.09 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.08. Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.40 and a 52 week high of $45.93.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Caesars Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 4.55% and a negative net margin of 1.71%. Caesars Entertainment's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.56) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Caesars Entertainment, Inc. will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment, Inc operates as a gaming and hospitality company. The company owns, leases, or manages domestic properties in 18 states with slot machines, video lottery terminals and e-tables, and hotel rooms, as well as table games, including poker. It also operates and conducts retail and online sports wagering across 31 jurisdictions in North America and operates iGaming in five jurisdictions in North America; sports betting from our retail and online sportsbooks; and other games, such as keno.