Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Receives $99.80 Average PT from Brokerages

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.80.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCRI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Monarch Casino & Resort Trading Up 1.5%

Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $95.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.29. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 12 month low of $69.99 and a 12 month high of $113.88.

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). The company had revenue of $140.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.39 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 18.60%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 536,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,094,096. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 25.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 20,328 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $7,207,000 after acquiring an additional 46,235 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 108,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,404,000 after purchasing an additional 10,553 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $41,204,000 after buying an additional 142,621 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the third quarter valued at about $1,348,000. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.