Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 8,703 Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. $MCRI

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 8,703 shares.
• Monarch Casino reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, exceeding the analysts' estimates, with a net margin of 18.70% and revenue of $136.91 million.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors currently hold 62.37% of Monarch Casino's stock, reflecting strong interest in the company's performance.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,331 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,703 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.22% of Monarch Casino & Resort worth $3,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCRI. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter worth about $19,346,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 147.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 222,770 shares of the company's stock worth $17,320,000 after buying an additional 132,599 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the first quarter valued at about $9,872,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,118,000. Finally, Orvieto Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,994,000. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Monarch Casino & Resort from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Monarch Casino & Resort from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.20.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of MCRI traded up $2.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.99. The company had a trading volume of 79,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,092. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $95.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.87. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.99 and a 52-week high of $113.88.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $136.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $129.76 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 18.70%. On average, research analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig F. Sullivan sold 12,200 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.55, for a total value of $1,287,710.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.78, for a total value of $211,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 560,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,248,435.80. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Monarch Casino & Resort Profile

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc engages in the ownership and operation of the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino facility in Reno, Nevada, and the Monarch Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.