EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 11,284 Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $997,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BYD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at approximately $486,737,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,755,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,652,000 after purchasing an additional 277,529 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after acquiring an additional 773,394 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,706,000 after purchasing an additional 136,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,537,000 after buying an additional 285,719 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 12,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.76, for a total value of $1,146,863.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 422,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,965,697.44. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BYD. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.69.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $80.85 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $91.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.17 and a 200-day moving average of $84.61. The stock has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.08.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 44.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.52%.

About Boyd Gaming

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.