Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.80.

Several research firms have issued reports on MCRI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $112.00 price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

NASDAQ MCRI opened at $96.60 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.18 and its 200-day moving average is $97.03. Monarch Casino & Resort has a one year low of $69.99 and a one year high of $113.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 1.29.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.12). Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 18.60%.The company had revenue of $140.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s payout ratio is currently 22.10%.

Insider Transactions at Monarch Casino & Resort

In related news, CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.63, for a total transaction of $100,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 553,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,659,459.30. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 25.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aristides Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 2,489.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,815,000 after buying an additional 48,368 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 194,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,601,000 after acquiring an additional 53,745 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 30,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 10,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc is a publicly traded owner and operator of an integrated casino resort in Reno, Nevada. The company’s flagship property, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, features a full-service casino floor with table games, slot machines, and sports betting, complemented by a diverse portfolio of amenities. Guests can choose from over 800 rooms and suites, dine at multiple on-site restaurants and bars, unwind at the full-service spa and salon, or enjoy live entertainment in the property’s showroom.

Monarch’s revenue streams are diversified across gaming operations, hotel accommodations, food and beverage services, and convention and meeting facilities.