Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) Short Interest Down 22.2% in February

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,840,000 shares, a drop of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 7,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wynn Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of WYNN opened at $86.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.77. Wynn Resorts has a 52-week low of $71.63 and a 52-week high of $110.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.72.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The casino operator reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $1.15. Wynn Resorts had a net margin of 7.03% and a negative return on equity of 71.17%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. Research analysts predict that Wynn Resorts will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wynn Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Wynn Resorts’s payout ratio is 23.75%.

Insider Activity at Wynn Resorts

In other Wynn Resorts news, Director Philip G. Satre bought 22,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.18 per share, for a total transaction of $2,046,396.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,152,095.10. The trade was a 185.08 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wynn Resorts by 70.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,971,846 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $380,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644,965 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Wynn Resorts by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,125,668 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $269,308,000 after purchasing an additional 485,204 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wynn Resorts by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,433,052 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $209,120,000 after buying an additional 26,792 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wynn Resorts by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,683,600 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $145,059,000 after buying an additional 139,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wynn Resorts by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,616,756 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $139,300,000 after buying an additional 228,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Wynn Resorts in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Wynn Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Wynn Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $105.00 to $118.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Wynn Resorts from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Wynn Resorts from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.58.

About Wynn Resorts

Wynn Resorts, Limited designs, develops, and operates integrated resorts. The company operates through four segments: Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau, Las Vegas Operations, and Encore Boston Harbor. The Wynn Palace segment operates private gaming salons and sky casinos; a luxury hotel tower with suites, and villas, including a health club, spa, salon, and pool; food and beverage outlets; retail space; meeting and convention space; and performance lake and floral art displays.