Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes $220,000 Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.20.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $74.92 on Monday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.54. 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 declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 12.98%.

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.