Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $124.40

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Seven brokerages assign Monarch Casino & Resort a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $124.40.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.78 versus the $1.68 consensus. Revenue rose 4.2% year over year to $142.6 million, slightly below forecasts.
• CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares for approximately $620,000, while institutional investors own 62.37% of the stock. Monarch also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.40.

MCRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Texas Capital upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $102.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.00, for a total value of $620,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 611,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,832,944. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 26.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the second quarter worth $270,679,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at $16,778,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,815,000 after buying an additional 48,368 shares during the period. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,873,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,501,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% of the company's stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $114.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.37. Monarch Casino & Resort has a fifty-two week low of $88.13 and a fifty-two week high of $135.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.40 and a 200 day moving average of $118.77.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 20.40%. The company had revenue of $142.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $142.85 million. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Monarch Casino & Resort's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.23%.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

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.

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