Norges Bank Buys Shares of 46,300 Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 46,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,653,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.25% of Monarch Casino & Resort as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 980 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the company's stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MCRI traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.68. 1,221 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 118,367. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.50 and a 1 year high of $96.11. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.09.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.23. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.27% and a net margin of 18.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut Monarch Casino & Resort from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $87.20.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company 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.