Stifel Nicolaus Raises Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $82.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) had its target price raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BYD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.71. The company had a trading volume of 783,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,817. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.75. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total value of $2,153,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,131,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,186,367.54. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 61.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,959 shares of the company's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 16,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,529 shares of the company's stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

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.