Sterne Agee Reiterates Neutral, $21 Target on Ameristar Casinos

Sterne Agee remains Neutral-rated with a $21 target price on Ameristar Casinos

as it sees no clear catalyst to growth to a nonetheless high-quality company. Sterne Agee says, "From a growth catalyst perspective, ASCA cited large potential in Springfield, Massachusetts, where it hopes to be awarded a casino license. However, licensing may not be bestowed until the second half of next year, and we believe ASCA's Massachusetts opportunity potentially limits other larger scale acquisition/growth opportunities for ASCA until a win/loss scenario becomes clearer. ...Management gave a bit of teaser as it relates to online gaming growth initiatives; however, we believe branding and partnerships will favor destination casinos overall and that online gaming remains a “too early to bet on” industry, especially for regional gaming stocks." ASCA closed at $20.94 a share yesterday.