Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,358,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,611 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.19% of Boyd Gaming worth $461,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,887 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,273,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 226.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company's stock worth $14,569,000 after purchasing an additional 140,707 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,101,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,066,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on BYD shares. 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Boyd Gaming from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Remove Ads

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE:BYD traded down $4.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $63.41. The company had a trading volume of 982,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,855. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $72.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.05. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $80.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 21.97% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming 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.