Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 171,579 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 683,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 171,579 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.88% of Boyd Gaming worth $58,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $83.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.26. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987. 22.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.