Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $516,000 in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. $MCRI

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 210.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 69.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MCRI opened at $126.80 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.91. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.66 and a fifty-two week high of $135.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCRI. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $97.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.40.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.84, for a total transaction of $604,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 26.34% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company Profile

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.