Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.0 %

BYD traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.69. 1,279,606 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 986,278. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $74.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.87. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during 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. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.