2007 Annual Report - Ameristar Casinos, Inc.

PART IIItem 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases ofEquity Securities(a) Market InformationOur Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ASCA.” The price pershare of common stock presented below represents the highest and lowest sales prices for our Common Stock on theNasdaq Global Select Market (formerly the Nasdaq National Market) during each calendar quarter indicated.2007First Quarter.................................................................................................................................... $ 34.73 $ 28.45Second Quarter ............................................................................................................................... 36.03 28.82Third Quarter.................................................................................................................................. 38.00 24.25Fourth Quarter ................................................................................................................................ 32.87 24.462006First Quarter.................................................................................................................................... $ 25.79 $ 21.35Second Quarter ............................................................................................................................... 26.57 17.98Third Quarter.................................................................................................................................. 23.22 16.73Fourth Quarter ................................................................................................................................ 33.41 21.66(b) HoldersAs of February 15, 2008, there were approximately 146 holders of record of our Common Stock.(c) DividendsWe have paid consecutive quarterly dividends on our Common Stock since 2004. Future dividends will dependupon our earnings, financial condition and other factors.In 2006, we paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.09375 per share on our Common Stock, for an annual total of$0.375 per share. In 2007, we paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.1025 per share, for an annual total of $0.41 pershare. On February 15, 2008, our Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend to $0.105 per share,commencing with the dividend to be paid on March 14, 2008.Our senior credit facilities obligate us to comply with certain covenants that place limitations on the payment ofdividends. We are limited to paying no more than $40.0 million annually for dividends under the agreementgoverning the senior credit facilities. For the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, we paid dividends totaling$23.4 million and $21.1 million, respectively. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of FinancialCondition and Results of Operations - Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “Note 5 - Long-term debt” of Notes toConsolidated Financial Statements.HighLow37