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

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.20.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $68.09 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 over the last 90 days. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.