Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Macquarie cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.77.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $64.97 on Thursday. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $68.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.44. The firm has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results 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. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The firm had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.21%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,737,284.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,046,000 after acquiring an additional 335,984 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,031,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,276,000 after purchasing an additional 274,876 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,899,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,864,000 after buying an additional 73,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,349,000 after buying an additional 189,226 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,002,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,485,000 after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.