Short Interest in Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) Declines By 7.8%

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEN) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 487,900 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the June 30th total of 529,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 305,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golden Entertainment

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GDEN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Golden Entertainment by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,556,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Golden Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $973,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Golden Entertainment in the 4th quarter valued at about $427,000. Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its position in shares of Golden Entertainment by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 112,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,512,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Golden Entertainment by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 414,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,563,000 after buying an additional 25,355 shares during the last quarter. 70.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Golden Entertainment Stock Down 5.9 %

NASDAQ GDEN traded down $1.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,368. The company has a market capitalization of $911.06 million, a PE ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 2.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Golden Entertainment has a 52 week low of $28.20 and a 52 week high of $43.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.46.

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $174.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.72 million. Golden Entertainment had a net margin of 30.14% and a return on equity of 1.13%. Research analysts anticipate that Golden Entertainment will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Golden Entertainment from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Golden Entertainment from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com lowered Golden Entertainment from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Golden Entertainment from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on Golden Entertainment in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

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.