Earnest Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in PENN Entertainment, Inc. $PENN

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in PENN Entertainment by 1.6%, holding about 1.95% of the company after selling 47,065 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own approximately 91.69% of PENN Entertainment’s stock, indicating strong interest from major financial entities.
• PENN Entertainment reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.10, exceeding expectations and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 6.1%.

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,934,772 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,065 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 1.95% of PENN Entertainment worth $47,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of PENN Entertainment by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its stake in PENN Entertainment by 201.1% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in PENN Entertainment by 1,371.6% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,721 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in PENN Entertainment by 42.2% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in PENN Entertainment by 56.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of PENN Entertainment from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PENN Entertainment from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.25.

PENN Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PENN traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.23. 2,344,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,896,661. The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -36.12 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.28 and a 200 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David A. Handler bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,816,279.36. This trade represents a 6.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About PENN Entertainment

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.