Cohen & Steers Inc. Boosts Stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,747,662 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,216,121 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned 4.85% of Boyd Gaming worth $297,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. III Capital Management raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. III Capital Management now owns 40,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,504,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 986,072 shares of the company's stock worth $61,738,000 after acquiring an additional 11,794 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,091,000. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 12,680 shares of the company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 3,707 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 5,196 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 3.1 %

BYD traded up $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,263,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,235. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 1.59. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $73.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.01.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.76%. The firm had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $947.26 million. On average, research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 12.21%.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total transaction of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at $124,802.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 28.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $71.00 in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.42.

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.

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