Cohen & Steers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,265,454 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,616 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 5.96% of Boyd Gaming worth $381,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company's stock worth $3,062,000 after acquiring an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,569,000 after acquiring an additional 140,707 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,458 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $307,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.27.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.65. 661,029 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,639. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $80.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.02. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

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.