MUFG Securities EMEA plc Takes $1.34 Million Position in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 15,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,868,000 after buying an additional 111,815 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,701,000 after buying an additional 174,214 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,005,000 after buying an additional 55,923 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth $2,073,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth $13,313,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BYD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $84.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.73. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $72.71 and a one year high of $89.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

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

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

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.