Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) Cut to Hold at Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial lowered shares of Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CZR has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Caesars Entertainment in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Caesars Entertainment from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Caesars Entertainment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Caesars Entertainment from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Caesars Entertainment presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Caesars Entertainment Stock Up 0.1%

CZR stock opened at $29.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of -12.63 and a beta of 1.76. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $29.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.47. Caesars Entertainment has a one year low of $17.86 and a one year high of $30.88.

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Caesars Entertainment had a negative net margin of 4.19% and a negative return on equity of 7.88%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.54) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Caesars Entertainment will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Caesars Entertainment news, insider Edmund L. Quatmann, Jr. sold 81,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total transaction of $2,393,962.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,263 shares in the company, valued at $536,019.05. This represents a 81.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael E. Pegram sold 55,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.20, for a total transaction of $1,606,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 293,463 shares of company stock valued at $8,609,241 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Caesars Entertainment

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CZR. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 246,899,900.0% in the fourth 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. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Caesars Entertainment by 121.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Caesars Entertainment during the fourth quarter worth $76,050,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Caesars Entertainment in the fourth quarter valued at $65,492,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Caesars Entertainment by 35,370.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,464,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,645,000 after buying an additional 2,457,570 shares in the last quarter. 91.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.