{"id":323974,"date":"2024-06-28T15:41:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T20:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=323974"},"modified":"2024-06-28T15:41:43","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T20:41:43","slug":"vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/","title":{"rendered":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fitch Ratings reaffirmed VICI Properties\u2019 (NYSE: VICI) credit grade at \u201cBBB-\u201c with a \u201cstable\u201d outlook in a report out Thursday.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_208796\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-208796\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-208796 size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-858x556.jpg\" alt=\"Caesars asset sale\" width=\"858\" height=\"556\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-858x556.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-430x279.jpg 430w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-208796\"class=\"text-description\">Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. Owner VICI Properties retained an investment-grade credit rating at Fitch Ratings. (Image: <em>CNN<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The research firm said the rating &#8212; the lowest on the investment-grade spectrum &#8212; is supported by VICI\u2019s status as one of the largest domestic real estate investment trusts (REITs) by enterprise value, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBTIDA) capabilities, and its ability to access capital. VICI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-properties-could-be-triple-net-leader-in-2024\/\">is the largest owner<\/a> of gaming real estate.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\"><p>The ratings also incorporate the company&#8217;s stable occupancy and ownership of large, strategic assets with regulatory barriers to access and contractual protections, as well as material tenant concentration with high-yield counterparties and potentially weaker contingent liquidity compared to other more traditional commercial real estate (CRE) property types,\u201d noted Fitch.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>New York-based VICI owns the property assets of iconic Las Vegas Strip casino hotels such as Caesars Palace and the Venetian, among others.<\/p>\n<h2>VICI Focusing on Deleveraging<\/h2>\n<p>One of the reasons VICI shares slid 7.58% over the past year and are lower by 10.13% year-to-date is because the operator took on more leverage at a time when interest rates are high. Alone, high borrowing costs weigh on REITs, but when more debt is factored into the situation, it can be a significant headwind, but VICI is working to delever.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p>Much of the landlord\u2019s recent debut accumulation stems from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-seals-17-2-billion-purchase-of-mgm-growth-properties\/\">the $17.2 billion acquisition<\/a> of rival MGM Growth Properties in 2022. With that deal, VICI added Excalibur, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage, New York New York, and Park MGM, as well as various regional casinos operated by MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) to its portfolio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cVICI&#8217;s leverage has returned to its long-term financial policy (5.0x-5.5x net debt\/operating EBITDA) on an MRQ basis with MRQ annualized REIT leverage of 5.4x as of March 31, 2024. Leverage was elevated in 2022-2023 as a result of its merger with MGM Growth Properties (MGP) and its acquisition of minority interests in the MGM Grand\/Mandalay Bay joint venture,\u201d added Fitch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The research firm believes the REIT will drive leverage below 5.5x by the end of this year. Fitch added that non-traditional owners, including private equity firms, gobbling up Las Vegas Strip real estate is compressing cap rates, thus bringing a potential long-term positive catalyst forth for VICI.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Watch for Indiana Transactions<\/h2>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-properties-lands-bull-call-from-jefferies\/\">was reported here earlier this week<\/a>, it\u2019s possible VICI will soon provide an update on its outlook for Centaur Holdings &#8212; the holding company of Harrah\u2019s Hoosier Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis, both of which are operated by Caesars Entertainment (NYSE: CZR).<\/p>\n<p>By way of Eldordado Resorts\u2019 2020 acquisition of Caesars, Eldorado and VICI reached an agreement under which the gaming company could put those properties to the REIT or the landlord could call them away by the end of this year. Caesars has previously indicated it\u2019s not planning to use its put rights, but VICI could decide to use its call rights, which could lead to higher-leverage over the near-term.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWere either party to exercise its rights, the ensuing transaction would represent material capital allocation for VICI. Depending on the company&#8217;s funding mix for the transaction, leverage could be elevated in the near term, though we expect the company would be able to manage leverage within its sensitivities within a reasonable amount of time post-acquisition,\u201d concludes Fitch.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fitch Ratings reaffirmed VICI Properties\u2019 (NYSE: VICI) credit grade at \u201cBBB-\u201c with a \u201cstable\u201d outlook in a report out Thursday. The research firm said the rating &#8212; the lowest on the investment-grade spectrum &#8212; is supported by VICI\u2019s status as one of the largest domestic real estate investment trusts (REITs) by enterprise value, earnings before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":208796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,33810,32093],"tags":[81903,81898,81966],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/\" \/>\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=\"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1660\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/\",\"name\":\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1660,\"caption\":\"Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. Owner VICI Properties retained an investment-grade credit rating at Fitch Ratings. (Image: CNN)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","description":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","og_description":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1660,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/","name":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-28T20:41:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/CP-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1660,"caption":"Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. Owner VICI Properties retained an investment-grade credit rating at Fitch Ratings. (Image: CNN)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/vici-clings-to-investment-grade-rating-with-stable-outlook-at-fitch\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"VICI Clings to Investment-Grade Rating with Stable Outlook at Fitch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. 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