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Century Casinos (CNTY) Boosts Missouri Footing With New Hotel

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Century Casinos, Inc. (CNTY - Free Report) recently announced the opening of its hotel in Cape Girardeau, MO, The Riverview. Connected with Century Casino Cape Girardeau, the six-story building housing 69 rooms, covers approximately 68,000 square feet. The construction amounted to $30.5 million.

The company also emphasized the construction of a new land-based casino with a 38-room hotel in Caruthersville, MO. Estimated at a project cost of $51.9 million, the development promises significant enhancements in gaming capacity and operational efficiency, supported by full funding from VICI. The company anticipates the project to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.

Following completion, VICI will possess the property enhancements associated with the Caruthersville project. The agreement will be incorporated into the company's triple net lease agreement with VICI subsidiaries.

In fourth-quarter 2023, the company’s Missouri properties demonstrated growth in revenues, EBITDA and operating margins on a year-over-year basis. Despite ongoing construction activities, the company reported an increase in visits from top-tier customers. The company looks forward to leveraging the addition to capitalize on geographical advantages and bolster its ability to attract customers.

Price Performance

Zacks Investment Research
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Century Casinos’ shares have declined 35.7% in the past six months against the industry’s 19.4% growth. The downside was primarily driven by unanticipated licensing delays leading to the closure of three casinos in Poland. Due to this, fourth-quarter earnings from operations in Poland declined on a year-over-year basis.

With all three licenses now granted, plans are in place to reopen a casino in a new location in the third quarter of 2024. The company is focused on exploring potential gaming projects and acquisition opportunities.

Looking ahead to 2025, the management expressed optimism concerning the integration of the newly-acquired casinos (Nugget and Rocky Gap) into the company. They anticipate a year free from significant construction or renovation disruptions at the properties. This marks a return to stability compared with 2022 levels. Loss estimates for 2025 have narrowed in the past 30 days, depicting analysts’ optimism regarding the stock’s growth potential.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Century Casinos currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector include:

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. RCL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 26.4%, on average. Shares of RCL have surged 118.1% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s 2024 sales and earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 14.7% and 47.9%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). TCOM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 53.1%, on average. Shares of TCOM have gained 27.4% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TCOM’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 18.2% and 8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H - Free Report) carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.8%, on average. Shares of H have rallied 44.1% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for H’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates a rise of 3.5% and 27%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

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