Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Trading Up 3.8%

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)’s share price traded up 3.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.70 and last traded at $61.64. 210,703 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 937,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.75.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 2.7 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.29%. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.21%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the first quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.