Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of casino operator Penn National Gaming
So what: The third-quarter report, posted this morning, really wasn't bad: Reported and projected revenues for the third and fourth quarters were in line with analyst expectations and earnings looked uniformly stronger than Street consensus. The big drop happened about 40 minutes into the earnings call when management more or less dismissed the idea of paying dividends because of the ineffective tax structure of such payouts.
Now what: When pressured on the dividend issue, Penn CEO Peter Carlino said that investors "can sell their shares if they don't like where we're at." That's exactly where the selling started. Careful what you wish for there, Pete. Still, dividends are not popular in the casino industry today; investor favorite Wynn Resorts
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