Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $78.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.53% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BYD. Barclays increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Macquarie lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.08.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $64.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 194,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,330. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.57. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $68.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.37.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 10.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,031,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,276,000 after purchasing an additional 274,876 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 4.0% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,899,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,864,000 after purchasing an additional 73,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,349,000 after buying an additional 189,226 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,002,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,485,000 after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the period. 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.