First Trust Advisors LP Grows Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,003 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.43% of Boyd Gaming worth $27,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BYD. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 23.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 167,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,831,000 after buying an additional 32,332 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter worth $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $306,000. Finally, Burney Co. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 29,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.23. 831,936 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 965,507. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.17 and a 200-day moving average of $71.25. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The firm has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. The firm had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $976.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BYD. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the company's 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 approximately $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% 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.