Long Focus Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in PENN Entertainment, Inc. $PENN

Key Points

• Long Focus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PENN Entertainment by 13.9%, acquiring an additional 215,200 shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,760,200 shares, valued at approximately $28.7 million.
• PENN Entertainment reported earnings of $0.10 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of ($0.04), with revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, up 6.1% year-over-year.
• The stock has an average price target of $23.25 from analysts, with eleven recommending a Buy and six issuing a Hold rating.

Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,760,200 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 215,200 shares during the quarter. PENN Entertainment accounts for about 1.0% of Long Focus Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Long Focus Capital Management LLC owned 1.17% of PENN Entertainment worth $28,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PENN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 103,589 shares of the company's stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,155 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,043,383 shares of the company's stock worth $20,680,000 after purchasing an additional 169,518 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 141,777 shares of the company's stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 14,549 shares during the last quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. now owns 29,001 shares of the company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP purchased a new position in shares of PENN Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $198,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PENN. Barclays reduced their price objective on PENN Entertainment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PENN Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut PENN Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded PENN Entertainment from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.25.

PENN Entertainment Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PENN traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,035,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,253,708. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of -35.02 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.22. PENN Entertainment, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.25 and a 52 week high of $23.08.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. PENN Entertainment had a negative return on equity of 4.36% and a negative net margin of 1.12%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PENN Entertainment, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PENN Entertainment

In other PENN Entertainment news, Director David A. Handler acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.96 per share, with a total value of $339,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 342,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,816,279.36. The trade was a 6.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PENN Entertainment Profile

PENN Entertainment, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. The company operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. It operates online sports betting in various jurisdictions; and iCasino under Hollywood Casino, L'Auberge, ESPN BET, and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino brands.