Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 149,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $10,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,121 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,756,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,638,000 after acquiring an additional 628,512 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 986,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,738,000 after purchasing an additional 11,794 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 857,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,697,000 after purchasing an additional 6,724 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 833,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,169,000 after purchasing an additional 172,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BYD. Macquarie cut their price target on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total transaction of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Boyd Gaming stock traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.05. 2,229,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 869,694. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $72.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.