Ariel Investments LLC Has $231.14 Million Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,186,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Boyd Gaming makes up approximately 2.5% of Ariel Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $231,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,887 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $55,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,273,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,074,000 after acquiring an additional 441,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 964,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,932,000 after acquiring an additional 261,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $70.94 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.38 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.07.

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.