StockNews.com Upgrades Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on GDEN. JMP Securities decreased their price target on Golden Entertainment from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Macquarie reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Golden Entertainment has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Golden Entertainment Price Performance

Golden Entertainment stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.43. 174,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,325. Golden Entertainment has a 52-week low of $22.66 and a 52-week high of $35.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $777.98 million, a P/E ratio of 23.73 and a beta of 1.85.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.01). Golden Entertainment had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $160.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.37 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Golden Entertainment will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Golden Entertainment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 256.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GDEN. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,704,000. Long Pond Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment in the first quarter valued at approximately $11,474,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Golden Entertainment by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,293,163 shares of the company's stock worth $40,864,000 after buying an additional 271,782 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Golden Entertainment by 885.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 171,302 shares of the company's stock worth $5,413,000 after buying an additional 153,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its stake in Golden Entertainment by 29.3% in the first quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 674,024 shares of the company's stock worth $17,827,000 after buying an additional 152,805 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.73% of the company's stock.

About Golden Entertainment

Golden Entertainment, Inc owns and operates a diversified entertainment platform in the United States. The company operates through four segments; Nevada Casino Resorts, Nevada Locals Casinos, Nevada Taverns, and Distributed Gaming. It also operates casino, casino resorts, and taverns; and slot machines in third party non-casino locations.