Diametric Capital LP Has $3.09 Million Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Diametric Capital LP increased its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 241.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,630 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,149 shares during the quarter. Boyd Gaming makes up approximately 2.1% of Diametric Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $3,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in 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 increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $65.76 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $80.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.10.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last ninety days. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BYD shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming 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.