Brokerages Set Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Price Target at $91.64

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.67.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $72.92 on Wednesday. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $76.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.43, for a total transaction of $1,539,245.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 438,615 shares in the company, valued at $31,330,269.45. This represents a 4.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 13.8% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 17,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 879.8% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 29,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,243 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.