Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Argus currently has $90.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $71.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after buying an additional 17,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,611,000 after buying an additional 33,379 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,349,000 after acquiring an additional 189,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 971,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,835,000 after acquiring an additional 54,128 shares in the last quarter. 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.