Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 545,927 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,434,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 545,927 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.66% of Boyd Gaming worth $465,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,015,000 after buying an additional 43,578 shares in the last quarter. III Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. III Capital Management now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth $117,720,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth $1,037,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $44,773,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:BYD opened at $54.53 on Thursday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $73.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.59.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly 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). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.76%. The business had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.26 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BYD. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total transaction of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.