Analysts Set Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Price Target at $95.00

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 3.2 %

BYD traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.86. 711,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,179. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The stock's 50-day moving average is $74.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock valued at $5,123,749 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Boston Partners grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,887 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 6,158.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,761,000 after purchasing an additional 894,383 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $55,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $43,273,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,074,000 after buying an additional 441,963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

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.