Insider Selling: Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO Sells $620,000.00 in Stock

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.00, for a total value of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 611,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,832,944. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Monarch Casino & Resort Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $117.57 on Thursday. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.13 and a 12 month high of $135.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.83.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $142.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.85 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 20.63%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio is 19.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCRI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $270,679,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter valued at $16,778,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 4th quarter valued at $7,244,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 2,489.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,815,000 after buying an additional 48,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter worth $5,873,000. Institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCRI. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $125.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research raised Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $102.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $116.00 to $114.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.40.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc is a gaming and hospitality company that owns and operates casino resorts in Nevada and Colorado. Its properties combine casino gaming with hotel accommodations, dining, entertainment, and other resort amenities.

The company operates Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada, which offers casino games, hotel rooms, restaurants, entertainment, and spa services. In Black Hawk, Colorado, Monarch operates Monarch Casino Resort Spa, a destination featuring gaming, lodging, dining, entertainment, and wellness facilities.

Monarch Casino & Resort has expanded its presence through the development and acquisition of casino resort properties, including its Black Hawk operations.