Boyd Gaming’s (BYD) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

BYD has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.20.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $74.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.40. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $76.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $2,939,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the second quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.