Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $64.64 and traded as high as $71.37. Boyd Gaming shares last traded at $71.14, with a volume of 1,021,267 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on BYD shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.83. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after buying an additional 9,565 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 497,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,403,000 after purchasing an additional 98,508 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 61,599 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter worth approximately $7,101,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.