Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes Position in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,256,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,696,000 after acquiring an additional 19,845 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,003,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,234 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 918,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,488,000 after purchasing an additional 72,764 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 404,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,881,000 after buying an additional 34,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 138,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,888,000 after buying an additional 9,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MCRI opened at $77.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.57. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.58 and a 52 week high of $96.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.06.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.01. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 18.27%. The company had revenue of $125.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $122.70 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCRI has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.60.

Monarch Casino & Resort Profile

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.