Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $89.98 and last traded at $89.9050, with a volume of 82781 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.69.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.39.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987. 22.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,755,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,652,000 after purchasing an additional 277,529 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after buying an additional 773,394 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,706,000 after buying an additional 136,129 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,537,000 after buying an additional 285,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,080,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,087,000 after buying an additional 103,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.