Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Chairman Sells $5,286,663.42 in Stock

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Marianne Boyd Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 1st, Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 37,086 shares of Boyd Gaming stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.27, for a total transaction of $3,162,323.22.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD stock traded up $1.17 on Tuesday, hitting $84.06. 1,250,497 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 941,481. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12 month low of $68.98 and a 12 month high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.08 and a 200 day moving average of $83.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 7,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,599,000 after acquiring an additional 4,693 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 9.8% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.6% in the first quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 299,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,650,000 after acquiring an additional 10,476 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BYD shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.