Analysts Set Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Price Target at $36.57

Shares of Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

GDEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Golden Entertainment in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Macquarie decreased their price target on Golden Entertainment from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Golden Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GDEN opened at $32.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.37 and its 200 day moving average is $31.63. The stock has a market cap of $896.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35 and a beta of 2.21. Golden Entertainment has a 1-year low of $27.42 and a 1-year high of $39.92. 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 (NASDAQ:GDEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.08. Golden Entertainment had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 0.69%. The firm had revenue of $161.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $162.22 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Golden Entertainment will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Terrence Wright sold 16,586 shares of Golden Entertainment 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 transaction, the director now owns 61,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,116.16. The trade was a 21.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Golden Entertainment in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Golden Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $52,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Golden Entertainment by 7.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Golden Entertainment during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake 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 worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.