Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) Upgraded to Buy by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on LNW. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Light & Wonder in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Light & Wonder from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Light & Wonder from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Light & Wonder from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Light & Wonder currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $106.60.

Light & Wonder Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNW opened at $91.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.01, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.90. Light & Wonder has a 52 week low of $67.71 and a 52 week high of $115.00.

Light & Wonder (NASDAQ:LNW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.14). Light & Wonder had a net margin of 9.92% and a return on equity of 40.51%. The business had revenue of $818.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $798.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Light & Wonder will post 4.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Light & Wonder announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Light & Wonder

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNW. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Light & Wonder by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 271,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,261,000 after purchasing an additional 42,927 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Light & Wonder in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,361,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Light & Wonder by 1,103.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 9,127 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Light & Wonder by 1,626.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 8,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Light & Wonder in the 4th quarter worth approximately $153,000. 88.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Light & Wonder

Light & Wonder, Inc operates as a cross-platform games company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Gaming, SciPlay, and iGaming segments. The Gaming segment sells game content and gaming machine; video gaming terminals; video lottery terminals, including conversion kits and spare parts; and table products, including automatic card shufflers, deck checkers, table roulette chip sorters and other land-based table gaming equipment.