Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 315 Shares of Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN – Get Rating) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Penn National Gaming were worth $80,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PENN. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Penn National Gaming by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Penn National Gaming by 2.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its position in Penn National Gaming by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC grew its position in Penn National Gaming by 5.5% in the third quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Penn National Gaming by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 79.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

In other news, Director Jane Scaccetti acquired 1,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.70 per share, for a total transaction of $98,157.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PENN shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Penn National Gaming from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Penn National Gaming from $62.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, January 21st. CBRE Group raised Penn National Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Friday, February 4th. Craig Hallum reduced their price target on Penn National Gaming from $130.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 4th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered shares of Penn National Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Friday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Penn National Gaming currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $68.63.

Shares of PENN stock opened at $36.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 2.40. Penn National Gaming, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.70 and a 12-month high of $96.24.

Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ:PENN – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Penn National Gaming had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company’s revenue was up 53.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Penn National Gaming, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Penn National Gaming declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 3rd that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Penn National Gaming (Get Rating)

Penn National Gaming, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and manages gaming and racing properties, and operates video gaming terminals. It operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, Interactive. The company offers casino gaming, online gaming, live racing, sports betting, and digital sports content.

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