Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 336 Shares of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Golden Entertainment worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GDEN. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 7.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 6.4% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 5.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 3,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.73% of the company’s stock.

Golden Entertainment Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of GDEN opened at $30.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $823.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Golden Entertainment, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.42 and a 1-year high of $36.92.

Golden Entertainment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Golden Entertainment’s payout ratio is currently 59.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GDEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.86.

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.