Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $63.61 and traded as high as $72.48. Boyd Gaming shares last traded at $72.09, with a volume of 588,289 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on BYD shares. Barclays upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.6 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.74. 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 has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 over the last 90 days. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.8% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,911 shares of the company's stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 13.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.0% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,754 shares of the company's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.9% during the second quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 17,966 shares of the company's stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.7% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,522 shares of the company's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. 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.