Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.31.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Macquarie dropped their price target on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during 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 last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $65.35 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.43. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $68.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.29%. Boyd Gaming’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

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.