Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on GDEN. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Golden Entertainment in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.86.

Golden Entertainment Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ GDEN opened at $31.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $852.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 2.21. The stock’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 quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. Golden Entertainment has a 52 week low of $27.42 and a 52 week high of $37.30.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GDEN. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 8,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at $875,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at $374,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 70.73% of the stock is 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.