Hantz Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position 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 institutional investor bought 16,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $60.02 on Friday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $68.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.08%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,154.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were 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 $85,737,284.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Macquarie reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.08.

Boyd Gaming 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.