Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Sells 521 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BYD. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,785 shares of company stock worth $5,208,439. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.4 %

BYD stock opened at $73.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BYD shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.20.

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.