Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $92.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $73.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $72.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.26. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 24.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 497,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,403,000 after acquiring an additional 98,508 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 61,599 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,101,000. 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.