Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Position Trimmed by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 66.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 376,015 shares of the company's stock after selling 744,832 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.43% of Boyd Gaming worth $27,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,361 shares of the company's stock worth $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 15,451 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 193,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,057,000 after purchasing an additional 31,130 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 84,067 shares of the company's stock worth $6,098,000 after purchasing an additional 15,384 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $638,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

BYD stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.04. The company had a trading volume of 820,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,454. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.51. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $80.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $991.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.38 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $83.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.07.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490. Company insiders own 21.97% 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.