Quantessence Capital LLC Makes New $410,000 Investment in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Quantessence Capital LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BYD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at $116,835,980.40. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $65.83 on Wednesday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $80.50. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $69.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is 11.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BYD. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.93.

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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