Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Research Coverage Started at Raymond James

Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $91.42.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $51.78 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.64. Boyd Gaming has a 12 month low of $51.45 and a 12 month high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $947.26 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.76% and a net margin of 14.91%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total transaction of $4,005,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at $555,168,740.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Boyd Gaming news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $555,168,740.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total transaction of $159,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 463,618 shares of company stock worth $29,564,319. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 23.3% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,015,000 after purchasing an additional 43,578 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,720,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,037,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 243,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,804,000 after buying an additional 19,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 4.9% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 274,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,682,000 after acquiring an additional 12,798 shares during the period. 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.