Short Interest in Bally’s Co. (NYSE:BALY) Grows By 348.0%

Bally’s Co. (NYSE:BALY) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,400 shares, an increase of 348.0% from the February 28th total of 5,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bally’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BALY. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Bally’s by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,057,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,916,000 after buying an additional 496,933 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Bally’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,326,000. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bally’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,784,000. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Bally’s by 88.3% in the 4th quarter. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. now owns 808,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 378,950 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Bally’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.41% of the company’s stock.

Bally’s Price Performance

NYSE BALY traded down $0.76 on Friday, reaching $11.88. The company had a trading volume of 26,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,135. The stock has a market capitalization of $576.20 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.62. Bally’s has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20.

Bally’s (NYSE:BALY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $1.34. The business had revenue of $580.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.83 million. Bally’s had a negative return on equity of 79.10% and a negative net margin of 30.04%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bally’s will post -7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BALY shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bally’s from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Bally’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Bally’s from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bally’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.13.

Bally’s Company Profile

Bally’s Corp. is a global casino-entertainment company with a portfolio of casinos and resorts and online gaming businesses. It operates through the following segments: Casinos & Resorts, International Interactive, and North America Interactive. The Casinos & Resorts segment consists of the company’s casino and resort properties, a horse racetrack, and a golf course.