Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Barclays

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Barclays in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $31.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $35.00. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 3.96% from the stock’s previous close.

CZR has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Caesars Entertainment from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Caesars Entertainment from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.27.

Caesars Entertainment Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CZR opened at $29.82 on Thursday. Caesars Entertainment has a 12-month low of $17.86 and a 12-month high of $31.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.25. The company has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.58 and a beta of 1.76.

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). Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.19% and a negative return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.54) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Caesars Entertainment

In other Caesars Entertainment news, insider Edmund L. Quatmann, Jr. sold 81,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $2,393,962.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,019.05. This trade represents a 81.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Pegram sold 55,000 shares of Caesars Entertainment stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.20, for a total transaction of $1,606,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 293,463 shares of company stock worth $8,609,241 over the last 90 days. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Caesars Entertainment

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,569,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,907,000 after buying an additional 61,065 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,141,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,430 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,529,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,582,000 after acquiring an additional 355,760 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 246,899,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,938,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,500,000 after acquiring an additional 4,937,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,359,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.79% of the company’s stock.

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.