Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,695 Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,861 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,695 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Monarch Casino & Resort worth $5,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 118,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,674 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,118,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 19,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 108,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,569,000 after acquiring an additional 17,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Monarch Casino & Resort from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Monarch Casino & Resort presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.60.

Monarch Casino & Resort Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock opened at $87.36 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.12. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.14 and a 12 month high of $96.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.54.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.22. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 18.53%. Analysts predict that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s dividend payout ratio is 23.67%.

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.