Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) Hits New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCRI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.23. Monarch Casino & Resort had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 16.82%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Monarch Casino & Resort

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Monarch Casino & Resort during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. 62.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Monarch Casino & Resort Stock Up 6.4 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 1.74.

About Monarch Casino & Resort

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.