Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Holdings Raised by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,355,209 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 285,719 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $115,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BYD. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 94.8% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,868,000 after purchasing an additional 111,815 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,701,000 after buying an additional 174,214 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 78.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,005,000 after buying an additional 55,923 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at about $13,313,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Texas Capital raised Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $87.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.00 and a 52 week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.