Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi Sells 5,000 Shares

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.84, for a total transaction of $604,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 616,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,504,627.04. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00.
• On Tuesday, March 10th, John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.43, for a total transaction of $97,430.00.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock traded down $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $120.26. 136,216 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,780. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.84. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.15 and a 52-week high of $122.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38 and a beta of 1.32.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.37. The company 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%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCRI. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 191.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 69.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCRI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.50.

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.