Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Monarch Casino & Resort, with three hold, two buy and one sell recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $124.40.
• Monarch reported quarterly EPS of $1.78, beating estimates of $1.68, while revenue of $142.6 million narrowly missed expectations and increased 4.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to $1.20 annually and a 1.0% yield; institutional investors own 62.37% of the stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $124.40.

Several research analysts have commented on MCRI shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $125.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. UBS Group set a $124.00 price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $116.00 to $114.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.84, for a total value of $604,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 616,556 shares in the company, valued at $74,504,627.04. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 26.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 7.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.5% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,490 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock worth $718,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of MCRI stock opened at $122.75 on Friday. Monarch Casino & Resort has a fifty-two week low of $88.13 and a fifty-two week high of $135.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $125.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.15. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

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

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc is a publicly traded owner and operator of an integrated casino resort in Reno, Nevada. The company's flagship property, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, features a full-service casino floor with table games, slot machines, and sports betting, complemented by a diverse portfolio of amenities. Guests can choose from over 800 rooms and suites, dine at multiple on-site restaurants and bars, unwind at the full-service spa and salon, or enjoy live entertainment in the property's showroom.

Monarch's revenue streams are diversified across gaming operations, hotel accommodations, food and beverage services, and convention and meeting facilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.