Morgan Stanley Raises Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $78.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $78.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.23.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $64.31 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $62.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $68.46.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.29%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,737,284.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the first quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.