Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Stock Position Raised by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 95.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 47,719 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,310 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $3,922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,755,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,652,000 after acquiring an additional 277,529 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 118.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after purchasing an additional 773,394 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,706,000 after purchasing an additional 136,129 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,537,000 after purchasing an additional 285,719 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,080,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,087,000 after purchasing an additional 103,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.15.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $87.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $91.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 in the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming 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.