Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $463,000 in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,562,000. Cambiar Investors LLC lifted its position in Monarch Casino & Resort by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 37,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,626,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter worth approximately $507,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,187,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,396,000 after buying an additional 42,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 70,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,862,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 62.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $69.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.25 and a twelve month high of $75.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.66.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $128.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.33 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 16.40%. Research analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 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 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MCRI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 9th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, a hotel and casino in Reno, Nevada. It also owns and operates the Monarch Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk in Black Hawk, Colorado. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Reno, Nevada.