Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,550,000 shares, a growth of 30.2% from the September 15th total of 5,030,000 shares. Currently, 7.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wynn Resorts Stock Performance

WYNN opened at $104.75 on Friday. Wynn Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $71.63 and a fifty-two week high of $110.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.92 and a 200 day moving average of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.81.

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The casino operator reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Wynn Resorts had a net margin of 12.22% and a negative return on equity of 53.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wynn Resorts will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wynn Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Wynn Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 13.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WYNN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Wynn Resorts from $111.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Wynn Resorts from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Wynn Resorts from $121.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Wynn Resorts from $131.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wynn Resorts from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia Mulroy sold 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.73, for a total value of $208,634.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,689 shares in the company, valued at $447,894.97. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Wynn Resorts by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,028,618 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $1,127,456,000 after purchasing an additional 166,594 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wynn Resorts by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,928,031 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $357,883,000 after buying an additional 16,799 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wynn Resorts by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,345,100 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $120,386,000 after buying an additional 303,033 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Wynn Resorts by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,125,718 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $115,082,000 after buying an additional 204,852 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Wynn Resorts by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 788,335 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $80,591,000 after acquiring an additional 38,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.87% of the company’s stock.

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.