NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Shares of casino operators were mixed Thursday as an analyst lowered some price targets on eroding market conditions.

The sector, along with many other industries, has been squeezed as consumers tighten spending due to the ongoing housing downturn, diminishing credit and escalating food and fuel costs. Casino operators are also faced with increased liquidity concerns and difficulty securing financing for development projects.

Jeffrey Logsdon of BMO Capital Markets said the current market environment has led to lower earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization outlooks.

"Until earnings power exceeds estimates and the capital in the banking markets becomes more fluid, it will be hard to envision meaningful upside in most gaming names, absent merger and acquisition activity," he wrote in a client note.

Logsdon said Las Vegas Sands Corp. is dealing with softening markets in Macau and Las Vegas as well as concerns over how it will fund development projects. The resumption of work at Boyd Gaming Corp.'s $4.8 billion Echelon project, which was recently suspended due to financing concerns, is also becoming harder to forecast, he added.

The analyst trimmed Las Vegas Sands' price target to $31 from $37 and reduced Boyd Gaming's price target to $7 from $11. He also lowered the price target of Ameristar Casinos Inc. to $9 from $15.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands shed 68 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $16 in midday trading, while Boyd Gaming fell 18 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $6.86. Ameristar's stock added 10 cents to $6.75.