MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) Price Target Raised to $41.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley raised their price target for MGM Resorts International from $38.00 to $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.09% from its previous close.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.79, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.58, alongside revenues of $4.40 billion.
• MGM's board approved a stock repurchase plan to buy back $2.00 billion in shares, suggesting the company's leadership believes the stock is currently undervalued.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $41.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MGM. Mizuho reduced their price objective on MGM Resorts International from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of MGM Resorts International from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MGM Resorts International in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of MGM Resorts International from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $57.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered MGM Resorts International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.72.

MGM Resorts International Stock Down 1.5%

MGM Resorts International stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.18. The stock had a trading volume of 3,178,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,075,862. MGM Resorts International has a 52 week low of $25.30 and a 52 week high of $42.53. The company has a market cap of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The business's 50 day moving average price is $35.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.47.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. MGM Resorts International had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 19.39%. MGM Resorts International's revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MGM Resorts International will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

MGM Resorts International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 22.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel J. Taylor sold 5,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.93, for a total transaction of $183,766.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Corey Ian Sanders sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total value of $1,377,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 281,530 shares in the company, valued at $9,693,077.90. This trade represents a 12.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,261 shares of company stock valued at $3,486,367 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in MGM Resorts International by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGM Resorts International by 0.9% in the second quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 30,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MGM Resorts International by 4.1% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in MGM Resorts International by 0.8% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 43,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in MGM Resorts International by 24.1% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.11% of the company's stock.

About MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates casino, hotel, and entertainment resorts in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Las Vegas Strip Resorts, Regional Operations, and MGM China. Its casino resorts offer gaming, hotel, convention, dining, entertainment, retail, and other resort amenities.