Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Sets New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $93.36 and last traded at $91.06, with a volume of 21472 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $85.81.

The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.23. Monarch Casino & Resort had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 17.06%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCRI. StockNews.com downgraded Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Monarch Casino & Resort in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other Monarch Casino & Resort news, CEO John Farahi sold 1,000 shares of Monarch Casino & Resort stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.70, for a total value of $77,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,059,477.20. The trade was a 0.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 24.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 61.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Monarch Casino & Resort by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 980 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.37% of the company’s stock.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.39.

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.