Pinnacle Entertainment (NASDAQ: PNK) and Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ:GDEN) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, dividends, profitabiliy, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Pinnacle Entertainment and Golden Entertainment, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Pinnacle Entertainment | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Golden Entertainment | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Pinnacle Entertainment presently has a consensus price target of $19.83, indicating a potential downside of 0.66%. Golden Entertainment has a consensus price target of $13.00, indicating a potential downside of 39.45%. Given Pinnacle Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Pinnacle Entertainment is more favorable than Golden Entertainment.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
88.6% of Pinnacle Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.3% of Golden Entertainment shares are held by institutional investors. 8.3% of Pinnacle Entertainment shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.0% of Golden Entertainment shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Pinnacle Entertainment and Golden Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Pinnacle Entertainment | -19.73% | N/A | -3.48% |
| Golden Entertainment | 4.63% | 6.99% | 3.41% |
Risk and Volatility
Pinnacle Entertainment has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golden Entertainment has a beta of 0.04, indicating that its stock price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Pinnacle Entertainment and Golden Entertainment’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Pinnacle Entertainment | $2.44 billion | 0.47 | $612.42 million | ($7.93) | -2.52 |
| Golden Entertainment | $418.82 million | 1.14 | $44.95 million | $0.85 | 25.26 |
Pinnacle Entertainment has higher revenue and earnings than Golden Entertainment. Pinnacle Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Golden Entertainment, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Pinnacle Entertainment beats Golden Entertainment on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
Pinnacle Entertainment Company Profile
Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. is an owner, operator and developer of casinos and related hospitality and entertainment businesses. The Company operates through three segments: Midwest, South and West. The Company’s Midwest segment includes Ameristar Council Bluffs, Ameristar East Chicago, Ameristar Kansas City, Ameristar St. Charles, Belterra, Belterra Park, Meadows and River City. The Company’s South segment includes Ameristar Vicksburg, Boomtown Bossier City, Boomtown New Orleans, L’Auberge Baton Rouge and L’Auberge Lake Charles. The Company’s West segment includes Ameristar Black Hawk and Cactus Petes and Horseshu. As of September 30, 2016, the Company owned and operated 16 gaming entertainment businesses, located in Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Company’s gaming entertainment businesses include gaming, food and beverage, and retail facilities, which include hotel and resort amenities.
Golden Entertainment Company Profile
Golden Entertainment, Inc. is a group of gaming companies. The Company focuses on distributed gaming, including tavern gaming, and casino and resort operations. It operates through two segments: Distributed Gaming and Casinos. Its Distributed Gaming segment involves the installation, maintenance and operation of gaming and amusement devices in certain strategic, high-traffic, non-casino locations (such as grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, taverns, saloons and liquor stores) in Nevada and Montana, and the operation of traditional, branded taverns targeting local patrons, primarily in the greater Las Vegas, Nevada metropolitan area. As of December 31, 2016, its distributed gaming operations consisted of approximately 10,400 gaming devices in approximately 960 locations. Its Casinos segment consists of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Flintstone, Maryland and three casinos in Pahrump, Nevada: Pahrump Nugget Hotel Casino, Gold Town Casino and Lakeside Casino & RV Park.
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