Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Stifel Nicolaus

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $31.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.12% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Raymond James Financial cut Caesars Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Caesars Entertainment from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caesars Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.53.

Caesars Entertainment Stock Performance

Caesars Entertainment stock opened at $29.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.44 and a beta of 1.77. Caesars Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $17.86 and a fifty-two week high of $31.58.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.19% and a negative return on equity of 7.88%. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.54) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael E. Pegram sold 16,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total value of $497,785.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edmund L. Quatmann, Jr. sold 81,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $2,393,962.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,019.05. This represents a 81.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 293,463 shares of company stock worth $8,609,241. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesars Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CZR. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 12,698 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,599,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,982,000 after acquiring an additional 826,356 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 17,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 5,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 506,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,665,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. 91.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caesars Entertainment Company Profile

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a leading integrated gaming and hospitality company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company owns and operates a global portfolio of resorts, casinos, and entertainment venues designed to deliver comprehensive hospitality experiences. Its business activities span hotel accommodations, gaming operations, food and beverage services, live events, and convention services, with a focus on delivering luxury and entertainment to both leisure and business travelers.

The company traces its lineage to the founding of Harrah’s by William F.