Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Boyd Gaming has a consensus analyst rating of Hold, with 15 brokers covering the stock; the average 12-month price target is about $92.08.
• Recent analyst moves were mixed, including price target cuts from Mizuho, Susquehanna, and Stifel Nicolaus, while Texas Capital upgraded the stock to strong-buy.
• The company reported Q1 earnings and revenue below estimates, but it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share and a $500 million share buyback authorization.

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.0833.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987. 22.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.05. The company has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $73.00 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96. 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 (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The firm 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 company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a share 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 often an indication that the company's management 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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