Stifel Nicolaus Increases Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $67.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Argus cut Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an outperform rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Boyd Gaming from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $80.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $89.31.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BYD stock opened at $61.49 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.73. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $68.80. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.17 per share. 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 is presently 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $124,802.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.8% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 7.4% in the second quarter. Burney Co. now owns 72,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 15.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in 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 period. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.6% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. 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.