Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.21 EPS

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21, Zacks reports. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.10% and a net margin of 13.01%.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE:BYD traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $78.43. 1,881,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,282. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $78.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.93 and its 200-day moving average is $67.29.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149 over the last 90 days. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.13.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication 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.