Altshuler Shaham Ltd Makes New Investment in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.31.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

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

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $64.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $68.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.39.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 12.21%.

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.