Morgan Stanley Lowers Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $89.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $89.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 0.44% from the company’s previous close.

BYD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.69.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of BYD traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $88.61. The company had a trading volume of 310,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,728. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.84. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $91.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 44.34%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 62.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.