Macquarie Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN)

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by Macquarie in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $40.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 35.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. 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 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golden Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.86.

Golden Entertainment Trading Down 4.1 %

NASDAQ GDEN traded down $1.27 on Friday, hitting $29.56. 103,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,660. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.88. 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 has a 52-week low of $27.42 and a 52-week high of $37.30. The company has a market capitalization of $810.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 2.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Golden Entertainment

In other news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 61,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,116.16. This represents a 21.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 352,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,197,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Golden Entertainment by 84.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 22,440 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 587,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,664,000 after buying an additional 24,264 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,293,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,864,000 after buying an additional 271,782 shares in the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.