Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $72.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $72.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on BYD. Mizuho started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a buy rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.30.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $64.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.44 and a 200 day moving average of $61.82. Boyd Gaming has a 1 year low of $52.42 and a 1 year high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.04 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 11.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total value of $7,971,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total transaction of $7,971,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Ted Bogich sold 41,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.79, for a total value of $2,697,272.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 66,803 shares in the company, valued at $4,328,166.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock worth $37,299,461. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,030,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,039,000 after buying an additional 359,698 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,760,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $497,575,000 after buying an additional 198,916 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,270,000 after buying an additional 1,216,121 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,756,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,638,000 after buying an additional 628,512 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,629,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,965,000 after buying an additional 1,020,515 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.