JMP Securities Reiterates Market Perform Rating for Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD)

JMP Securities restated their market perform rating on shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus upgraded 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. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.20.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of BYD stock opened at $74.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.49. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.43, for a total value of $1,539,245.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 438,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,330,269.45. The trade was a 4.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.