Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, 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 twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.40.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $102.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Texas Capital raised Monarch Casino & Resort to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research raised Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.00, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 611,556 shares in the company, valued at $75,832,944. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 26.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 267.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 261 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the second quarter worth approximately $57,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of MCRI opened at $114.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.37. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 1 year low of $88.13 and a 1 year high of $135.93. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.77.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $142.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.85 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid 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 was Tuesday, September 1st. Monarch Casino & Resort’s payout ratio is presently 19.23%.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company Profile

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc is a gaming and hospitality company that owns and operates casino resorts in the United States. Its properties serve leisure and gaming customers with casino gaming, hotel accommodations, dining, entertainment, spa services and meeting facilities.

The company operates Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada, and Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado. The resorts offer a range of gaming options, including slot machines, table games and, where permitted, sports wagering, along with restaurants, bars and other guest amenities.

Monarch’s history in the casino industry dates to the development of its Black Hawk property in the 1990s and its subsequent expansion in Nevada.