Swiss National Bank Reduces Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.15% of Boyd Gaming worth $9,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,569,000 after purchasing an additional 140,707 shares in the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BYD. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $68.09 on Friday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12 month low of $49.34 and a 12 month high of $80.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $74.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.62. 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 (NYSE:BYD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.