Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.0833.

BYD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814 over the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 526 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $79.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $83.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.60. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $72.01 and a 52-week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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