Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Short Interest Update

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 7.7% from the November 15th total of 2,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 806,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at $103,190,719.50. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $730,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,514 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 15.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 72,704 shares of the company's stock worth $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 5,028 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BYD. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.1 %

Boyd Gaming stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.87. 1,039,723 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,092. The firm has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG 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. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $76.73. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.59.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is 12.98%.

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.