Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $26.42, but opened at $27.00. Golden Entertainment shares last traded at $26.36, with a volume of 9,491 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GDEN. Macquarie reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Golden Entertainment in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Golden Entertainment has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.86.

Golden Entertainment Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $693.79 million, a P/E ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.61 and a 200-day moving average of $31.73.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Golden Entertainment 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 sale, the director now owns 61,616 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 352,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,197,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 84.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after buying an additional 22,440 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 587,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,664,000 after buying an additional 24,264 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 673,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,288,000 after buying an additional 27,508 shares in the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is 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.