Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,840,000 shares, a drop of 22.2% from the February 13th total of 7,510,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 6.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wynn Resorts

In other news, Director Philip G. Satre bought 22,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $92.18 per share, for a total transaction of $2,046,396.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,152,095.10. This trade represents a 185.08 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wynn Resorts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Wynn Resorts by 1.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 108,067 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Wynn Resorts by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 188,753 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $18,098,000 after purchasing an additional 7,850 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Wynn Resorts by 7.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,252 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Wynn Resorts by 49.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,683 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Wynn Resorts by 4.1% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,616 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. 88.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WYNN. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Wynn Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Wynn Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Wynn Resorts from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Wynn Resorts from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Wynn Resorts from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wynn Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.58.

Wynn Resorts Stock Up 3.5 %

WYNN opened at $86.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.72. Wynn Resorts has a twelve month low of $71.63 and a twelve month high of $110.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.77.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The casino operator reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $1.15. Wynn Resorts had a net margin of 7.03% and a negative return on equity of 71.17%. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wynn Resorts will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wynn Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Wynn Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 23.75%.

Wynn Resorts Company Profile

Wynn Resorts, Limited designs, develops, and operates integrated resorts. The company operates through four segments: Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau, Las Vegas Operations, and Encore Boston Harbor. The Wynn Palace segment operates private gaming salons and sky casinos; a luxury hotel tower with suites, and villas, including a health club, spa, salon, and pool; food and beverage outlets; retail space; meeting and convention space; and performance lake and floral art displays.