{"id":201781,"date":"2022-02-16T11:38:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T19:38:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=201781"},"modified":"2022-02-16T13:38:54","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T21:38:54","slug":"golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Entertainment Offers Cash Flow, Capital Return Potential, According to Analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quietly one of this year’s best-performing gaming equities, Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) is soaring again today. That’s after a sell-side analyst issued a bullish report on the Strat owner.<\/p>\n

\"Golden
The Strat Las Vegas, seen above. An analyst sees big upside for operator Golden Entertainment (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In late trading, shares of Golden are higher by four percent on above-average volume. That’s extending a run that’s seen the casino stock surge nearly 16 percent over the past week. The surge began after Roth Capital analyst Edward Engel restarted coverage of the name with a \u201cbuy\u201d rating and a $70 price target. That implies an upside of 23.8 percent from the Feb. 15 close.<\/p>\n

\n

With Golden sporting a free cash flow (FCF) yield of 12 percent, Engel says the stock is an \u201cunderappreciated\u201d FCF story. Las Vegas-based Golden operates 10 casinos<\/a>, nine of which are in Southern Nevada, including the Strat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Analysts and investors also like the strength in Golden\u2019s various businesses, including its gaming route unit (a business where they install slot machines in places like bars, restaurants, truck stops, etc.) and PT\u2019s Entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PT’s controls 60 bars, pubs, and casual dining restaurants. Those are recovering strongly following the 2020 shutdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Golden Opportunity<\/h2>\n

Following a spate of suspensions amid the onset of the pandemic, dividends are still hard to come by<\/a> in the gaming industry. But Engel believes Golden will soon return capital to shareholders.<\/p>\n

After last decade’s M&A, deleveraging and renovation cycle, we expect GDEN shift focus to buy-backs\/dividends,\u201d<\/strong> said the analyst. \u201cThis offers a rare capital return story for gaming investors, and is unique vs peers targeting costly iGaming expansion.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The company currently doesn’t pay a dividend. But with limited near-term expansion plans and debt refinanced at more favorable terms, Golden has an opportunity to reward investors. It could introduce buybacks and potentially a dividend.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter refinancing debt, we expect GDEN to accelerate capital returns to shareholders in 2H22, with a focus on share buy-backs and some introduction of a dividend,\u201d said the analyst.<\/p>\n

Macro Trends Benefiting Golden<\/h2>\n

Golden was one of the star gaming stocks of 2021. But some market observers attributed that bullishness to transitory factors, such as government stimulus and pent-up demand.<\/p>\n

\n

Engel says there’s more to the story, and that amid ongoing vibrancy in the Las Vegas locals market<\/a> — a key constituency for Golden — benefits that accrued to the operator last year could prove more permanent than some experts expect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThose visiting LV suburbs will find growing similarities between SoCal and Phoenix\/Tempe, where taxes, weather and affordability are driving a great migration,\u201d concludes the analyst. \u201cWhile population data remains limited for 2021, we\u2019ve seen evidence that migration to the Las Vegas region has accelerated since early 2021, driving an acceleration in housing prices, employment, and population.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Quietly one of this year’s best-performing gaming equities, Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) is soaring again today. That’s after a sell-side analyst issued a bullish report on the Strat owner. In late trading, shares of Golden are higher by four percent on above-average volume. That’s extending a run that’s seen the casino stock surge nearly 16 percent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":201782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGolden Entertainment Could Be Big Shareholder Rewards Story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Golden Entertainment generating lots of cash, could buyback stock, start dividend, says analyst.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Golden Entertainment Could Be Big Shareholder Rewards Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Golden Entertainment generating lots of cash, could buyback stock, start dividend, says analyst.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T19:38:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T21:38:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/strat.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/\",\"name\":\"Golden Entertainment Could Be Big Shareholder Rewards Story\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/strat.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-16T19:38:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-16T21:38:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Golden Entertainment generating lots of cash, could buyback stock, start dividend, says analyst.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/golden-entertainment-could-be-big-shareholder-rewards-story\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/strat.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/strat.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The Strat Las Vegas. 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