Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi Sells 1,000 Shares

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.43, for a total transaction of $97,430.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 538,304 shares in the company, valued at $52,446,958.72. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

John Farahi also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 16th, John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

NASDAQ:MCRI opened at $99.47 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 1.29. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.99 and a 1-year high of $113.88.

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

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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 target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note 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 raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Monarch Casino & Resort has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.80.

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCRI. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 491,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,010,000 after buying an additional 20,328 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 211.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 68,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,207,000 after acquiring an additional 46,235 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 10.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 108,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,404,000 after acquiring an additional 10,553 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 57.8% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 389,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,204,000 after acquiring an additional 142,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the third quarter worth about $1,348,000. 62.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.