Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $89.31.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Macquarie cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 0.2 %

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $64.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.57. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $68.46.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,737,284.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at about $2,010,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 61.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 50,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 19,088 shares during the last quarter. Long Pond Capital LP acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,440,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.