5,400 Shares in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. $MCRI Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCRI. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 worth $110,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort during the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCRI. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.40.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MCRI opened at $126.80 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.91. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.66 and a 52 week high of $135.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.29.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $136.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.49 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 19.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s payout ratio is currently 20.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.84, for a total value of $604,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 616,556 shares in the company, valued at $74,504,627.04. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 26.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monarch Casino & Resort 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.