Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.42.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of BYD stock opened at $53.65 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $73.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 1.59.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $960.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.26 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,980,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,442,000 after purchasing an additional 167,849 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,270,000 after buying an additional 1,216,121 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.0% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,031,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,276,000 after acquiring an additional 274,876 shares during the period. HG Vora Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in the third quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,868,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.0% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,899,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,864,000 after acquiring an additional 73,491 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.