PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

PENN Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,090,000 shares, a decline of 14.2% from the May 31st total of 29,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 16.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

PENN Entertainment Stock Performance

Shares of PENN Entertainment stock traded down $0.57 on Monday, reaching $18.78. The stock had a trading volume of 5,563,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,376,922. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. PENN Entertainment has a fifty-two week low of $13.50 and a fifty-two week high of $29.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52 and a beta of 2.11.

PENN Entertainment (NASDAQ:PENN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported ($0.79) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.59) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. PENN Entertainment had a negative net margin of 17.77% and a negative return on equity of 3.53%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PENN Entertainment will post -1.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PENN. Raymond James downgraded shares of PENN Entertainment from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of PENN Entertainment from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of PENN Entertainment in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at PENN Entertainment

In other news, CFO Felicia Hendrix bought 16,157 shares of PENN Entertainment stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.47 per share, with a total value of $249,948.79. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,061,180.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director David A. Handler purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.94 per share, for a total transaction of $597,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 283,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,234,743. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Felicia Hendrix purchased 16,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.47 per share, for a total transaction of $249,948.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,061,180.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 76,157 shares of company stock valued at $1,154,949 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PENN Entertainment

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $42,758,000. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the 4th quarter worth about $32,556,000. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of PENN Entertainment in the 3rd quarter worth about $19,792,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,884,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,313,000 after purchasing an additional 787,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of PENN Entertainment by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,098,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,595,000 after purchasing an additional 725,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

About PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming experiences. The company operates through five segments: Northeast, South, West, Midwest, and Interactive. It operates online sports betting in various jurisdictions; and iCasino under Hollywood Casino, L'Auberge, ESPN BET, and theScore Bet Sportsbook and Casino brands.