Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MCRI. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.80.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

Shares of MCRI opened at $98.47 on Monday. Monarch Casino & Resort has a one year low of $69.99 and a one year high of $113.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.12.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.12). Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 18.68% and a net margin of 18.60%.The firm had revenue of $140.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $139.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Monarch Casino & Resort will post 5.13 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, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s payout ratio is 22.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 536,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,094,096. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 25.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 15,295 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $283,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 109.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 4,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,682,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.37% 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.