Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MCRI. Zacks Research lowered shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $116.00 to $114.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $124.00 target price on Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Monarch Casino & Resort presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.40.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MCRI opened at $125.13 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $125.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.50. Monarch Casino & Resort has a one year low of $88.13 and a one year high of $135.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.31.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.10. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 20.63% and a net margin of 20.40%.The business had revenue of $142.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.85 million. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors 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 payout ratio is 19.23%.

Insider Activity at Monarch Casino & Resort

In related news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were 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 owned 616,556 shares in the company, valued at $74,504,627.04. This represents a 0.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 26.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 210.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 191.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. 62.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.