Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential downside of 1.27% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BYD. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.77.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $74.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.21.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 owns 1,161,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $10,540,944 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.4% during the third quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 25,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% 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.