Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi Sells 1,000 Shares

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.63, for a total transaction of $100,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 553,110 shares in the company, valued at $55,659,459.30. This trade represents a 0.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Monarch Casino & Resort Price Performance

Shares of MCRI traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.16. The stock had a trading volume of 32,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,816. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.57. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.99 and a 52 week high of $113.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.36.

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $142.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.54 million. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 19.33%. As a group, research analysts expect that Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Monarch Casino & Resort Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Monarch Casino & Resort’s payout ratio is presently 21.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 2.2% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 6.5% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MCRI. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.40.

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.