Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Brokerages have assigned Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) an average rating of "Hold", with one "buy" rating and a consensus target price of $93.20 over the next 12 months.
• The company exceeded earnings expectations, reporting $1.44 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.22, alongside revenue of $136.91 million.
• Significant insider activity was noted, including Director Craig F. Sullivan selling 12,200 shares at an average price of $105.55, totaling over $1.28 million.

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.20.

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCRI. Truist Financial raised their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $102.08 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.50 and a 200 day moving average of $87.97. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 12 month low of $69.99 and a 12 month high of $113.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19 and a beta of 1.49.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.22. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 18.70%.The company had revenue of $136.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $129.76 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $59,248,435.80. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 25.52% of the company's stock.

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. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 147.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 222,770 shares of the company's stock worth $17,320,000 after acquiring an additional 132,599 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 1st quarter worth about $9,872,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 343,565 shares of the company's stock worth $26,712,000 after acquiring an additional 98,371 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort during the first quarter worth approximately $5,904,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 20.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 391,868 shares of the company's stock worth $33,877,000 after buying an additional 65,272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company's stock.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

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.

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