Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $76.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $80.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.77 and its 200 day moving average is $68.84.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock valued at $5,123,749. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 61,599 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth about $399,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4,816.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 184,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,320,000 after purchasing an additional 180,806 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Boyd Gaming

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.