Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) reached a new 52-week high on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $79.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Boyd Gaming traded as high as $70.07 and last traded at $68.72, with a volume of 197483 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.31.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.54.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,737,284.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,154.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second 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. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the first quarter valued at $90,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 132.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.20 and a 200-day moving average of $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.57.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.29%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

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.