Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $3.18 Million Stock Holdings in Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,910 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Golden Entertainment worth $3,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GDEN. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 132.1% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,486,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,251,000 after buying an additional 846,269 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Golden Entertainment by 78.2% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 283,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,805,000 after acquiring an additional 124,218 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 100.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 163,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 82,175 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Golden Entertainment during the 2nd quarter worth $1,848,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,537,000. 70.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Golden Entertainment Price Performance

NASDAQ GDEN opened at $31.40 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $861.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 2.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.25. Golden Entertainment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.42 and a 52-week high of $40.55.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is 80.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Golden Entertainment news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.26, for a total value of $518,478.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 61,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,116.16. The trade was a 21.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GDEN. StockNews.com lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Golden Entertainment from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Golden Entertainment in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golden Entertainment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.57.

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.