Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Cut to Hold at Argus

Argus lowered shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on BYD. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna reissued a neutral rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price target for the company from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.1 %

BYD stock opened at $54.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $52.42 and a 1-year high of $73.00. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.64.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The business had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total value of $159,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total transaction of $159,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Ted Bogich sold 41,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.79, for a total transaction of $2,697,272.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 66,803 shares in the company, valued at $4,328,166.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 411 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 31,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.