Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Lowered to $66.00 at Morgan Stanley

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $68.00 to $66.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Boyd Gaming from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $90.92.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BYD stock opened at $57.72 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $73.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.59.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.76% and a net margin of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $947.26 million. Research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total transaction of $100,034.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is 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.