Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Stake Trimmed by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after acquiring an additional 17,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,611,000 after acquiring an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,725,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 925,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,164,000 after acquiring an additional 16,979 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $43,273,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $67.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.60. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12 month low of $49.34 and a 12 month high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Profile

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.