Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings 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 twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $99.80.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCRI. Wall Street Zen lowered Monarch Casino & Resort from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.63, for a total value of $100,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 553,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,659,459.30. This represents a 0.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 25.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,030,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,609,000 after purchasing an additional 5,667 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 4.3% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 396,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,983,000 after buying an additional 10,890 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 57.8% in 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, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 77.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 188,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,951,000 after acquiring an additional 82,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $96.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.02 and a 200-day moving average of $97.59. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 1-year low of $69.99 and a 1-year high of $113.88. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.10%.

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.