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

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.50.

MCRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of MCRI opened at $117.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.11. Monarch Casino & Resort has a twelve month low of $80.39 and a twelve month high of $120.91.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $136.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.49 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 19.62% and a return on equity of 19.98%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.34%.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 536,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,094,096. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 26.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 2.2% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.5% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.5% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company Profile

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.