Argus Upgrades Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) to "Buy"

Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $90.00 target price on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $79.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $73.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,039,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 903,092. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.69 and a 200-day moving average of $62.59. 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 has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.6% in 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 15.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,199 shares of the company's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 7.4% during 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. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings 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 valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.