Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Short Interest Down 13.4% in June

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) saw a large drop in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,630,000 shares, a drop of 13.4% from the June 15th total of 4,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 5.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $58.83 on Wednesday. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $73.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 1.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.76% and a net margin of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.26 million. Research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3,333.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James assumed coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus lowered Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.92.

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.