Macquarie Upgrades Accel Entertainment Stock Forecast

Accel Entertainment (NYSE:ACEL) received a positive boost from analysts at Macquarie, who raised their target price from $15.00 to $16.00, indicating a strong outlook for the company. This update was shared in a research note published on Friday. Macquarie has also assigned an "outperform" rating to the stock, which suggests that they expect it to perform better than the overall market. The new price target reflects a potential upside of around 55.95% based on the company's recent closing price.

Current Performance of Accel Entertainment Stock

On Friday, shares of Accel Entertainment experienced a decline of 12.4%, falling by $1.45 and reaching a price of $10.26 during mid-day trading. The trading volume was noted at 133,029 shares, which is lower than the average volume of 281,279 shares. The company's financial metrics include a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.63, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54. Additionally, Accel Entertainment has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.39. Currently, the market capitalization of the company stands at approximately $844.81 million, while it has a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.46. Over the past year, the company has seen a low of $9.37 and a high of $12.96.

Recent Insider Activity

In related news, there have been notable insider transactions. On December 16th, Derek Harmer, an insider, sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $11.70, totaling $117,000. Following this transaction, Harmer now holds 199,413 shares valued at about $2,333,132.10, which represents a 4.78% decrease in his ownership. Similarly, on the same day, Director David W. Ruttenberg sold 25,000 shares at an average price of $11.50 for a total of $287,500. Post-transaction, Ruttenberg owns 360,635 shares, amounting to roughly $4,147,302.50, reflecting a 6.48% decrease in his stake. In the last quarter alone, insiders sold a total of 94,577 shares worth approximately $1,090,072. Currently, insiders hold about 17.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Support for Accel Entertainment

There have been several changes in the shareholder composition of Accel Entertainment, as multiple institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares. For instance, Covestor Ltd increased its stake by 32.4% during the fourth quarter, now owning 4,294 shares valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares. The New York State Teachers Retirement System also entered the scene by purchasing shares worth about $51,000. Furthermore, Russell Investments Group Ltd. expanded its position by an impressive 11,304.3% in the same quarter, now holding 5,246 shares valued at $56,000 after buying 5,200 additional shares. Other notable investors include Point72 Asset Management L.P., which bought a new stake valued at around $64,000, and Quantbot Technologies LP, which also acquired shares worth $78,000. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 55.39% of Accel Entertainment's stock.

Overview of Accel Entertainment

Accel Entertainment, Inc. operates as a distributed gaming operator within the United States. The company specializes in the installation, maintenance, and operation of gaming terminals, redemption devices that dispense winnings and feature automated teller machine (ATM) capabilities, and various amusement devices in authorized locations that do not fall under casino regulations, including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery stores.

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