Aristides Capital LLC Invests $256,000 in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth about $1,220,000. III Capital Management grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. III Capital Management now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 223,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,078,000 after purchasing an additional 28,844 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 398,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,849,000 after purchasing an additional 51,252 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $117,720,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 4.3 %

BYD traded up $2.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.05. 2,229,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 869,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.58. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $72.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BYD shares. Macquarie decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus lowered Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.