Brokerages Set Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Target Price at $95.00

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.20.

Several analysts recently weighed in on BYD shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $75.91 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.37. 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 has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 11.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,660 shares of company stock valued at $5,123,749 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $522,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 159,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,575,000 after purchasing an additional 32,020 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 440.7% in the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 38,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 31,182 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 253.1% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Six Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $9,162,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.