5 Takeaways From Wells Fargo's Vegas Room Rate Survey

Wells Fargo has published results of its Las Vegas room rate survey. Following are the five key takeaways from the survey:

2. New Year's Eve trending down in low-single digits past couple weeks.

4. October citywide revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 2 percent given tough comp.

5. Strength in first quarter 2017 not a singular event.

The survey came ahead of Las Vegas data, which is expected on December 29. Analyst McKnight estimates November Las Vegas Strip gaming revenues to be flattish to down 5 percent year-over-year.

Commentary

For regional gamers, the year-to-date November revenues were down 0.2 percent in line with McKnight’s estimates, while weather and New Year's Eve could be a ''wildcard'' for December results.

The analyst also warned that the first quarter results of regional gamers will be up against a difficult comp (+2.5 percent) on last year's mild winter. The key regional gamers include Penn National Gaming, Inc PENN, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc PNK, Churchill Downs, Inc. CHDN and Boyd Gaming Corporation BYD.

Meanwhile, gaming stocks underperformed last week, but have outperformed year-to-date. The analyst said gaming stocks under coverage were down 2 percent on the week versus the S&P 500, which was flat on the week. Year-to-date, gaming stocks grew 19 percent, while S&P 500 advanced 11 percent.