Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $64.64 and traded as high as $71.37. Boyd Gaming shares last traded at $71.14, with a volume of 1,021,267 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six 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. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.83.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $2,164,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,101,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,451,724.30. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 9,565 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 497,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,403,000 after buying an additional 98,508 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after buying an additional 61,599 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,046,000 after buying an additional 335,984 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.