Wall Street Zen Downgrades Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Accel Entertainment from "strong‑buy" to "buy," but the stock still carries a MarketBeat consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $14.67 (1 Strong Buy, 4 Buy, 1 Hold).
• Accel beat last quarter's estimates with EPS of $0.19 versus $0.15 expected and revenue of $341.45M (consensus $335.66M), reporting a 3.87% net margin and 27.49% ROE; analysts project $0.69 EPS for the year.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — 864,247 shares (~$9.87M) sold in the last 90 days, including a director sale of 172,943 shares — while institutional investors own about 55.4% of the company.

Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ACEL. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on shares of Accel Entertainment from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Accel Entertainment from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Accel Entertainment from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Accel Entertainment from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accel Entertainment currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $14.67.

Accel Entertainment Stock Performance

NYSE:ACEL opened at $12.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.61. Accel Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $9.55 and a fifty-two week high of $13.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.05.

Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Accel Entertainment had a net margin of 3.87% and a return on equity of 27.49%. The company had revenue of $341.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.66 million. Equities research analysts predict that Accel Entertainment will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David W. Ruttenberg sold 10,000 shares of Accel Entertainment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.53, for a total transaction of $115,300.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon Rubenstein sold 172,943 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.37, for a total transaction of $1,966,361.91. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,674 shares in the company, valued at $257,803.38. This represents a 88.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 864,247 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,047. Corporate insiders own 14.47% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Accel Entertainment in the third quarter worth $49,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Accel Entertainment by 456.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Accel Entertainment by 195.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Accel Entertainment during the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accel Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.39% of the company's stock.

Accel Entertainment Company Profile

Accel Entertainment, Inc is a Chicago-based gaming and entertainment company specializing in the provision of regulated electronic gaming terminals and related management services to licensed establishments across the United States. The company’s core offerings include video gaming terminals (VGTs), digital payment solutions, player loyalty programs and compliance support, all designed to enhance customer engagement and operational efficiency for bars, restaurants, truck stops and convenience stores.

Founded in 2005, Accel Entertainment has built a network that spans multiple states, including Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa.

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