Graham Capital Management L.P. Takes Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,144,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 1,065,887 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth $55,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $43,273,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,074,000 after buying an additional 441,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 37.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 964,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,932,000 after buying an additional 261,443 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.07.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $72.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $67.17 and its 200-day moving average is $71.56. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $976.38 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.75%.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. The trade was a 18.82 % 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490 over the last ninety days. 21.97% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming 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.