Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded to “Buy” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $92.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $73.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Six 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of BYD stock opened at $72.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.11. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $76.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last three months. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the second quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.