Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Hold — Seven brokers cover GDEN (1 sell, 5 hold, 1 buy) with an average 1‑year target of $32.75.
• Recent quarter missed expectations, reporting ($0.01) EPS vs. $0.11 estimate and $155.6M revenue vs. $166.6M estimate, leaving a negative net margin and a negative P/E while analysts forecast ~0.2 EPS for the year.
• Golden declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00, ~3.7% yield) and has seen significant institutional buying—70.7% of shares are held by institutions, including multi‑million dollar new and increased stakes.

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.75.

GDEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Golden Entertainment from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Golden Entertainment from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, March 10th.

Golden Entertainment Trading Up 1.5%

GDEN opened at $26.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Golden Entertainment has a 52 week low of $19.57 and a 52 week high of $32.74. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.58. The firm has a market cap of $699.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -106.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $155.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.61 million. Golden Entertainment had a negative net margin of 0.95% and a positive return on equity of 0.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Golden Entertainment will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Golden Entertainment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Golden Entertainment's dividend payout ratio is currently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Golden Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,812,000. Hill Path Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 477.8% during the second quarter. Hill Path Capital LP now owns 655,625 shares of the company's stock worth $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 542,150 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 461.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 533,217 shares of the company's stock worth $14,498,000 after purchasing an additional 438,297 shares during the period. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Golden Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at $10,013,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Golden Entertainment by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,134,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,846,000 after buying an additional 233,324 shares during the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golden Entertainment Company Profile

Golden Entertainment, Inc is a diversified gaming and hospitality company that operates in the casino, tavern-casino and slot route markets. The company's core activities encompass the ownership and management of full-service resort casinos, a portfolio of branded neighborhood tavern-casinos and a large slot distribution network. Headquartered in Summerlin, Nevada, Golden Entertainment serves leisure and local gaming customers across multiple Western U.S. markets.

In its casino and tavern-casino segment, Golden Entertainment owns and operates properties such as Bronco Billy's Casino & Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado, along with a collection of PT's branded venues throughout Southern Nevada.

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