Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

A number of research firms have commented on GDEN. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Golden Entertainment from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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 objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Golden Entertainment Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Golden Entertainment stock opened at $33.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.45 and its 200 day moving average is $31.57. Golden Entertainment has a one year low of $27.42 and a one year high of $39.92. The firm has a market cap of $906.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $162.22 million. Golden Entertainment had a return on equity of 0.69% and a net margin of 5.23%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.02) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Golden Entertainment will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Golden Entertainment’s payout ratio is 80.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Golden Entertainment news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of Golden Entertainment stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.26, for a total transaction of $518,478.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,116.16. The trade was a 21.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,293,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,864,000 after acquiring an additional 271,782 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 587,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,664,000 after purchasing an additional 24,264 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 352,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,197,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 278,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,860,000 after buying an additional 38,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bernzott Capital Advisors raised its position in Golden Entertainment by 7.9% in the third quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors now owns 247,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,872,000 after acquiring an additional 18,233 shares during the period. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golden Entertainment Company Profile

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.