HG Vora Bullish On Media, Entertainment Stocks

#3 Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PNK)

– Shares Owned by HG Vora Capital Management (as of June 30): 5.05 Million

– Value of Holding (as of June 30): $56 Million

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PNK) is another stock that made its debut in HG Vora’s equity portfolio during the second quarter. Earlier this year, the company completed the spinoff of most of its real-estate assets, which were acquired by Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ:GLPI). Since then, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:PNK)’s stock has appreciated by 21%. In August, the company authorized a new $50 million stock repurchase program, which it plans to fund without increasing its debt leverage profile. On August 22, analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage of the stock with a ‘Buy’ rating and $15 price target, which represents potential upside of 17.9%. The number of hedge funds that we track which were long Pinnacle Entertainment declined by eight during the second quarter, to 21, while the aggregate value of their holdings in it fell by $441 million to $206.93 million.

#2 MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM)

– Shares Owned by HG Vora Capital Management (as of June 30): 2.7 Million

– Value of Holding (as of June 30): $61.1 Million

Moving on, HG Vora lowered its stake in MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) by 44% during the second quarter. Shares of the casino operator are currently trading up by 17.85% year-to-date, led by positive revenue trends in Las Vegas and Macau. For its most recent quarter, the company reported EPS of $0.26 on revenue of $2.45 billion, missing analysts’ EPS expectations of $0.28 but topping their revenue estimates of $2.33 billion. Earlier this month, analysts at Gabelli released a note in which they once again called MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) one of their top ideas. The firm currently has a ‘Buy’ rating and $39 price target on the stock, which represents potential upside of 45.5%. The collection of hedge funds in our system were also bullish on the company going into the third quarter, as 59 of them were long MGM at the end of June, up by four quarter-over-quarter.

#1 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT)

– Shares Owned by HG Vora Capital Management (as of June 30): 2.75 Million

– Value of Holding (as of June 30): $62 Million

Though HG Vora reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) by 5% during the second quarter, the company jumped two spots in the fund’s portfolio to become its top stock pick at the end of June. Other hedge funds that also reduced their stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) during the second quarter included Jeffrey Furber‘s AEW Capital Management and John Khoury‘s Long Pond Capital. Shares of the hospitality major took a major beating last year, but have managed to recoup some of those losses in 2016, as they are currently trading up 5.47% year-to-date. Most analysts who track the company are currently bullish on it, as the stock currently sports an average rating of ‘Overweight’ and an average price target of $26.42 from the 25 leading analysts on the Street who cover it. Ownership of Hilton among the hedge funds that we follow declined drastically during the June quarter, to 27 from 42. However, the aggregate value of their holdings in it rose by 31.3% to $1.96 billion during that time.

Disclosure: None