PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 111.78% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PENN. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on PENN Entertainment from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PENN Entertainment from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Macquarie lowered their price objective on PENN Entertainment from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered PENN Entertainment from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.13.

PENN Entertainment Trading Down 8.1 %

Shares of PENN stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.11. 17,724,833 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,815,982. PENN Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $13.50 and a fifty-two week high of $31.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18 and a beta of 2.06.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported ($1.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($1.18). PENN Entertainment had a positive return on equity of 1.31% and a negative net margin of 7.70%. The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Equities analysts expect that PENN Entertainment will post -0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PENN Entertainment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PENN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of PENN Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,758,000. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the fourth quarter worth $32,556,000. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in PENN Entertainment during the third quarter worth $19,792,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of PENN Entertainment by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,098,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,595,000 after buying an additional 725,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in PENN Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $16,341,000. 91.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. The company operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. It operates online sports betting in various jurisdictions; and iCasino under Hollywood Casino, L'Auberge, ESPN BET, and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino brands.