Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Director William R. Boyd Sells 15,000 Shares

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $79.32. The company had a trading volume of 640,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 956,977. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $80.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $74.64 and its 200-day moving average is $68.61. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,360,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 61,599 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at $399,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 4,816.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 184,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,320,000 after purchasing an additional 180,806 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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