Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.20.

BYD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE BYD opened at $76.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.18. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming 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. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,660 shares of company stock worth $5,123,749 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $522,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 159,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,575,000 after acquiring an additional 32,020 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 440.7% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 38,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 31,182 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 253.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Six Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.