Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective raised by Susquehanna from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BYD. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Argus raised 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.13.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $78.43 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $78.63. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 35.10%. On average, research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total transaction of $2,153,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,131,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,186,367.54. This represents a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149. Corporate insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after buying an additional 17,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,611,000 after buying an additional 33,379 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,725,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 925,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,164,000 after buying an additional 16,979 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 679,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,523,000 after buying an additional 16,159 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.