John Farahi Sells 5,000 Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Stock

Key Points

• CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 Monarch Casino shares at an average price of $124, generating $620,000 and reducing his direct ownership by 0.81% to 611,556 shares.
• Monarch Casino shares fell 1.3% to $119.86, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.78, beating estimates, and revenue of $142.6 million, up 4.2% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $124.40; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.30, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 611,556 shares in the company, valued at $75,832,944. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $119.86. The stock had a trading volume of 143,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,530. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.57. 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 cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 1.31.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.10. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 20.40% and a return on equity of 20.63%. The firm had revenue of $142.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.85 million. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Monarch Casino & Resort's payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCRI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Monday, August 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $102.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Texas Capital raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $125.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monarch Casino & Resort currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter worth about $7,244,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 69.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 33,319 shares of the company's stock worth $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 13,712 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,182,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at approximately $270,679,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,069,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% of the company's stock.

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.

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