Analysts Set Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Price Target at $91.64

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.67.

BYD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $72.92 on Wednesday. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. 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 declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 25,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 13.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% 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.