Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $134.31 and last traded at $129.46, with a volume of 232348 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.66.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.50.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $117.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 1.30.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $136.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.49 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 19.98% and a net margin of 19.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.84, for a total transaction of $604,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 616,556 shares in the company, valued at $74,504,627.04. This trade represents a 0.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 26.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.5% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 62.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.