Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $124.40

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $124.40.

MCRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Monarch Casino & Resort to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Monarch Casino & Resort from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Monarch Casino & Resort from $102.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Performance

MCRI opened at $113.16 on Thursday. Monarch Casino & Resort has a 52-week low of $88.13 and a 52-week high of $135.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $119.53 and a 200-day moving average of $119.43. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Monarch Casino & Resort

In other news, CEO John Farahi sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.00, for a total transaction of $620,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 611,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,832,944. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 26.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Monarch Casino & Resort

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCRI. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter valued at $270,679,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Monarch Casino & Resort during the second quarter worth about $16,778,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Monarch Casino & Resort by 2,489.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 50,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,815,000 after buying an additional 48,368 shares during the period. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,501,000. 62.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc operates casino resorts in Nevada and Colorado. The company’s properties combine casino gaming with hotel accommodations, dining, entertainment and other hospitality services.

Its principal properties are Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada, and Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado. The resorts offer gaming facilities, restaurants and bars, hotel rooms and suites, spa services, meeting spaces and entertainment options. The company primarily serves regional visitors and destination guests in the western United States.

Monarch Casino & Resort traces its history to the opening of the Atlantis in Reno in 1972.