Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 46.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,725 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,345 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 85.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $74.83 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $75.34.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $10,540,944 in the last three months. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Barclays upped 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.38.

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.