Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $88.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $88.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.52% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BYD. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.54.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

BYD stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.84. 308,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,188. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $91.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.75. 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 (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly 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). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last three months. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after buying an additional 773,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,763,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,099,000 after purchasing an additional 405,340 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,675,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.