Insider Selling: Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) CFO Sells 23,924 Shares of Stock

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 0.8%

Boyd Gaming stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $82.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,011,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,208. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.94 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.20.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 45.05%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,531,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 78.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,005,000 after acquiring an additional 55,923 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,701,000 after purchasing an additional 174,214 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 94.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,868,000 after purchasing an additional 111,815 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 115.8% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 245,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,174,000 after purchasing an additional 131,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 target price on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.58.

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.