Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.86.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GDEN. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Golden Entertainment in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Golden Entertainment in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Golden Entertainment from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd.

Golden Entertainment Stock Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:GDEN opened at $27.32 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $724.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03 and a beta of 2.29. Golden Entertainment has a one year low of $25.17 and a one year high of $36.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.58.

Golden Entertainment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Golden Entertainment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.88%.

Institutional Trading of Golden Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GDEN. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 405.7% during the fourth 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. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Golden Entertainment by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 709 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is currently 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.