Comparing Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ:MCRI) & Century Casinos (CNTY)

Monarch Casino & Resort (NASDAQ: MCRI) and Century Casinos (NASDAQ:CNTY) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitabiliy, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Monarch Casino & Resort and Century Casinos, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Monarch Casino & Resort	0	2	2	0	2.50
Century Casinos	0	1	1	0	2.50

Monarch Casino & Resort currently has a consensus price target of $48.75, indicating a potential upside of 39.64%. Century Casinos has a consensus price target of $9.30, indicating a potential upside of 43.96%. Given Century Casinos’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Century Casinos is more favorable than Monarch Casino & Resort.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.8% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of Century Casinos shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.6% of Monarch Casino & Resort shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 14.5% of Century Casinos shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Monarch Casino & Resort has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Century Casinos has a beta of -0.34, indicating that its stock price is 134% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Century Casinos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Monarch Casino & Resort	11.77%	11.16%	8.92%
Century Casinos	5.98%	6.07%	3.92%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Monarch Casino & Resort and Century Casinos’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Monarch Casino & Resort	$224.35 million	2.73	$56.90 million	$1.48	23.59
Century Casinos	$142.41 million	1.11	$25.16 million	$0.35	18.46

Monarch Casino & Resort has higher revenue and earnings than Century Casinos. Century Casinos is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Monarch Casino & Resort, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Monarch Casino & Resort beats Century Casinos on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

Monarch Casino & Resort Company Profile

Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. (Monarch), through its subsidiary, owns and operates the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa (the Atlantis), a hotel/casino facility in Reno, Nevada. The Company also owns and operates Monarch Casino Black Hawk. The Company’s segments include Atlantis and Monarch Casino Black Hawk. The Atlantis is located approximately three miles south of downtown in the area of Reno, Nevada. As of December 31, 2016, the Atlantis featured approximately 61,000 square feet of casino space; 824 guest rooms and suites; eight food outlets; two espresso and pastry bars; a 30,000 square foot health spa and salon with an enclosed year-round pool; two retail outlets offering clothing and traditional gift shop merchandise; an 8,000 square-foot family entertainment center, and approximately 52,000 square feet of banquet, convention and meeting room space.

Century Casinos Company Profile

Century Casinos, Inc. is an international casino entertainment company. The Company develops and operates gaming establishments, as well as related lodging, restaurant and entertainment facilities around the world. Its segments include Canada, the United States, Poland, and Corporate and Other. The Canada segment consists of Century Casino & Hotel-Edmonton; Century Casino Calgary; Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, and Century Bets! Inc. (Century Bets). The United States segment comprises Century Casino & Hotel-Central City, and Century Casino & Hotel-Cripple Creek. The Poland segment consists of Casinos Poland. The Corporate and Other segment comprises Cruise Ships and other. The Company owns casino operations in North America; holds interest in casinos throughout Poland; holds a racetrack and entertainment center (REC) in Canada and the pari-mutuel off-track betting network in southern Alberta; manages a casino in Aruba, and provides gaming services in Argentina.