Pinnacle Entertainment Declines As Analyst Downgrades on Poor Consumer Spending

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pinnacle Entertainment Inc.'s stock slid Friday after an analyst downgraded the shares and forecast a tough year for U.S. gaming companies as an economic slowdown hits casino operators.

Shares declined 80 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $13.40 in early morning trading.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Dennis Forst downgraded the stock to "Underweight" from "Hold" on lower spending from U.S. consumers. Forst also forecast a first-quarter loss of 5 cents per share.

"We are feeling more and more that 2008 will be a difficult year for U.S. gaming companies, and Pinnacle is no exception," Forst wrote in a client note.

And even though Pinnacle's stock price has declined 39 percent so far this year, Forst expects the stock to underperform the market in the near-term.

Pinnacle owns and operates casinos and Nevada, Louisiana, Indiana, Missouri, Argentina and the Bahamas.