We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Casino Stocks that Pay Dividends. In this article, we will have a look at where Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) ranks among other casino stocks that pay dividends.

The casino industry is making a comeback after the setbacks caused by the pandemic in 2020. It took a while for the sector to recover, with several factors at play, but the rebound is now clear with the easing of social distancing measures. Data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau showed that Macau’s gaming revenue surged by 14.8% in August this year, surpassing expectations. The increase in demand for entertainment during China’s summer vacation has driven growth in the world’s largest casino hub. Casino stocks fall under the larger leisure and hospitality sector and are affected by a range of influences, such as the state of the economy, consumer spending habits, and changes in gambling regulations.

Also read: 10 Best Casino Stocks To Buy According to Analysts

Investor confidence in the casino industry has also skyrocketed, thanks to their ability to consistently hit it out of the park over the years. Casino revenues experienced a notable increase in 2023. Additionally, online casinos, which mainly gained importance during the pandemic, also posted record earnings last year. A report by the American Gaming Association (AGA) revealed that brick-and-mortar casino slots and table games generated a record $49.4 billion in 2023, marking a 3.3% increase over 2022. On the state level, 19 out of 27 traditional gaming markets achieved record annual revenues. Online casino revenue also surged in 2023, growing 22.9% year-over-year to $6.2 billion across the six states with fully legalized iGaming. The report further highlighted that 12 of the top 20 commercial casino gaming markets saw revenue growth, with the Las Vegas Strip leading the way with the most significant year-over-year gains.

The casino industry, like many others, is evolving quickly to keep up with current trends. In a recent move, Singapore has made changes to the Casino Control Act, allowing its two casinos to offer cashless gaming options, though cryptocurrencies will not be permitted, as reported by CNA. Cashless bets can be placed at gaming tables or machines by using virtual credits from cashless gaming accounts or e-wallets. This adjustment is the most recent update to casino regulations in Singapore, which had previously tightened rules by lowering the threshold for monitoring cash deposits at casinos to prevent misuse by terrorist and criminal groups.

The shift to cashless betting has highlighted people’s growing preference for digital platforms. The pandemic underscored the need for contactless options while still allowing people to enjoy these activities. Sports betting is also becoming more prominent since it operates through digital channels, providing a similar thrill to that of casinos. According to the AGA, while commercial gambling revenue is on the rise in most states where it’s legal, the growth in sports betting and online gambling is outstripping that of traditional casinos. So much so that it seems that Americans are withdrawing funds from their stock brokerage accounts to support their online betting habits. This is the main conclusion from a recent working paper titled Gambling Away Stability: Sports Betting’s Impact on Vulnerable Households. The paper suggests that for every dollar spent on sports betting, net investments in stocks and other financial assets decreased by just over $2. With that, we will now take a look at some of the best casino stocks that pay dividends.

Our Methodology:

For this list, we scanned Insider Monkey’s database of Q2 2024 and selected companies that are involved in the casino and gambling industry. These companies own and operate casinos, resorts, and other gaming and entertainment facilities. From the resultant list, we picked the 10 best casino stocks that pay dividends to shareholders and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds having stakes in them as of Q2 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).

1. Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 42

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) is an American gambling company that operates high-end hotels and casinos. After four years of pandemic-related challenges, the company is now operating at full capacity. The second-quarter results, which set a new record for Adjusted Property EBITDAR, highlighted the ongoing strength across the business. It continues to focus on growth, with construction on Wynn Al Marjan Island in the UAE advancing rapidly. In addition, during the quarter, the company finalized a transaction to acquire its pro-rata share of land on Al Marjan Island Three, securing a substantial land bank for potential future development opportunities, either for Wynn Resorts or third parties aligned with Wynn Al Marjan.

Baron Funds also gave a positive outlook on Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN)’s operations in its Q4 2023 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“The shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), an owner and operator of hotels and casino resorts, declined modestly in the most recent quarter, in part due to concerns about economic weakness in China.

We remain optimistic about the multi-year prospects for the company. We believe the ongoing re-emergence of business activity in Macau will drive additional shareholder value. If cash flow returns to the level achieved in 2019 prior to COVID-19, we believe Wynn’s shares will increase 30% to 50% higher than where they have recently traded.

We believe additional drivers for future value creation beyond a re-emergence in Macau business activity include: (i) our expectation for long-term growth opportunities in the company’s U.S.-centric markets of Las Vegas and Boston, including an expansion of Wynn’s Encore Boston Harbor resort; (ii) Wynn’s plans to develop an integrated resort in the United Arab Emirates with 1,500 hotel rooms and a casino that is similar in size to that of Encore Boston Harbor; (iii) opportunities to improve cash-flow margins by rightsizing labor and achieving lower staff costs in Macau; (iv) the possibility that Wynn is granted a New York casino license; and (v) an expansion in the company’s valuation multiple to levels achieved prior to the pandemic.”

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) generated $1.73 billion in revenues in the second quarter of 2024, which saw an 8.5% growth from the same period last year. Its net income for the quarter came in at $112 million, up from $105.2 million in the prior year period. The company ended the quarter with $2.38 billion available in cash and cash equivalents.

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), one of the best casino stocks, currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share. The stock has a dividend yield of 1.31%, as of September 12.

Of the 912 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of Q2 2024, 42 funds owned stakes in Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), which remained unchanged from the previous quarter. These stakes have a total value of over $1 billion. With over 2.3 million shares, Fisher Asset Management was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q2.

Overall, WYNN ranks 1st on our list. While we acknowledge the potential for WYNN to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WYNN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.