Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Given New $68.00 Price Target at Macquarie

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target lowered by Macquarie from $72.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Macquarie currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BYD. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $89.31.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE BYD opened at $61.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.78. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $72.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.11. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at $124,802.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.