Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Receives Market Perform Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 1.9 %

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $77.09 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $80.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.10% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149. 28.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BYD. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by 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.