Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.86.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GDEN. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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 lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Golden Entertainment Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GDEN opened at $30.84 on Tuesday. 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 $36.92. The firm has a market cap of $845.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87 and a beta of 2.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.24 and its 200 day moving average is $31.93.

Golden Entertainment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Golden Entertainment’s payout ratio is currently 59.88%.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $31.26, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GDEN. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Golden Entertainment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 405.7% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 7,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Golden Entertainment by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.