Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Given “Outperform” Rating at Macquarie

Macquarie reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golden Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golden Entertainment presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.86.

Golden Entertainment Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GDEN opened at $31.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Golden Entertainment has a 12-month low of $27.42 and a 12-month high of $37.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.24 and a 200-day moving average of $31.88. The stock has a market cap of $852.77 million, a PE ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 2.21.

Golden Entertainment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.65%.

Insider Transactions at Golden Entertainment

In other news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,616 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $17,704,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,293,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,864,000 after purchasing an additional 271,782 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 885.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 171,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after purchasing an additional 153,927 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 190,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,005,000 after purchasing an additional 72,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 24.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.