Einhorn Boosts Penn Entertainment Stake in Big Way
David Einhorn's DME Capital Management raised its ownership of regional casino operator Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) for the second quarter in a row.
According to a recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the hedge fund increased its holdings of the gaming stock from roughly 6.3 million shares in the first three months of the year to over 7.5 million shares in the second quarter.
During the April through June period, the money manager added two names to positions that were already in place, including Penn, the sole casino stock that is now included in the DME Capital portfolio. Einhorn made a wise decision because Penn's stock has increased by 11% in the last ninety days.
In the second quarter, the hedge fund eliminated one pair of bets while initiating two others. Additionally, Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ: PTON) was less exposed. Money managers' justifications for increasing, decreasing, or eliminating particular investments are not discussed in Form 13.
Einhorn Wasn't Afraid of the Penn Scandal
In the first quarter of 2024, DME Capital, formerly known as Greenlight Capital, began investing in Penn. Since DME began investing in the stock early last year, the new boost to that investment is at least the third increase.
It's interesting to note that DME increased its stake in Penn during the June quarter, just as the casino operator and activist hedge fund HG Vora were engaged in a proxy war. Vora advocated for the addition of three directors to Penn's board. In addition to Carlos Ruisanchez and Johnny Hartnett, the gaming corporation protested the appointment of William Clifford because of his prior connections to Penn.
Clifford's candidacy is still being manipulated legally; according to Vora, he had a lot of support from Penn investors at the operator's June shareholder meeting. The tension between Penn and Vora seems to have subsided for the time being.
Casino.org contacted DME Capital earlier this year to inquire about the Penn/Vora incident, but the hedge fund did not reply.
Penn Stock May See Further Growth
Wall Street is warming to the stock, though it's unclear why Einhorn's hedge fund increased its Penn position in the second quarter. The opening of a land-based casino in Joliet, Illinois, and the remodeled Aurora, Illinois, site in early 2026 are viewed as stimuli for Penn during a period of increasing gaming revenue in Illinois.
Analysts predict that new projects will lead to rise in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs (EBITDAR), even if Penn's ESPN Bet division frequently garners the most of attention and even eclipses its regional casinos.
“We believe a ‘normal’ ramp throughout the quarter should allow for an easier setup in 4Q25 for the overall enterprise,” wrote Citizens Equity Research Analyst Jordan Bender in a new report. “Easy comps (no new supply) position the company as one of the more favorable regional gaming companies in the space, in our view, and while online losses subside, we believe PENN’s lease-adjusted leverage will decline to 5.3x by YE26, from 7.0x in 2Q25.”