Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.1538.

BYD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last 90 days. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 569,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,796,000 after acquiring an additional 46,146 shares during the last quarter. Seven Six Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.6% in the first quarter. Seven Six Capital Management LLC now owns 125,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,344,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 122,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,108,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.3% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 10.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 6,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $86.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 626,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,617. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.77, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.76. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $91.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Boyd Gaming

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.