Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:CZR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.7143.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CZR shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Texas Capital lowered Caesars Entertainment from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research lowered Caesars Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Caesars Entertainment from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other Caesars Entertainment news, CMO Josh Jones sold 59,507 shares of Caesars Entertainment stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.72, for a total value of $1,768,548.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $2,393,962.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,019.05. This represents a 81.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 595,003 shares of company stock valued at $17,547,145. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesars Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CZR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Caesars Entertainment in the second quarter worth about $830,001,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Caesars Entertainment in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,014,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,569,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,907,000 after purchasing an additional 61,065 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Caesars Entertainment by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,141,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,430 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Caesars Entertainment by 2,852.0% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,750,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,659,000 after purchasing an additional 6,521,369 shares during the last quarter. 91.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caesars Entertainment Price Performance

NASDAQ CZR opened at $29.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.73. Caesars Entertainment has a 52-week low of $17.86 and a 52-week high of $30.88.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.35). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 3.99% and a negative return on equity of 7.64%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Caesars Entertainment

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.