Casino Stocks: Which Has the Winning Hand?
NEW YORK (
) - While experts agree the road to recovery will be a long one for casino operators, expectations for the sector do improve heading into the second-half of the year.
For one,
Penn National Gaming
(PENN) - Get Penn National Gaming, Inc. Report
upped its full-year outlook last week after it reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations.
The regional casino operator now expects to earn $1.13 a share in 2010, from prior guidance of $1. Analysts are calling for earnings of $1.07 a share.
Penn tends to be an anomaly among casino companies when it comes to releasing forward-looking guidance, forcing investors to pay close attention to any color provided on first-quarter conference calls in the coming weeks.
Unsurprisingly, Macau-driven companies like
Las Vegas Sands
(LVS) - Get Las Vegas Sands Corp. Report
and
Wynn Resorts
(WYNN) - Get Wynn Resorts, Limited Report
, are expected to fare better than Las Vegas-centered casinos like
TheStreet Recommends
MGM Mirage
(MGM) - Get MGM Resorts International Report
and
Boyd Gaming
(BYD) - Get Boyd Gaming Corporation Report
.
Still, visitation rates to Las Vegas continue to improve, and once room rates and group and convention business see an uptick, a recovery could be possible.
On that note, which casino stock -- MGM, Las Vegas Sands, Penn Gaming, Wynn Resorts or Boyd -- do you think will outperform in the second-half of 2010? Take our poll below to see the consensus of
TheStreet
.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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