Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Boyd Gaming, with 10 hold, five buy and one strong-buy rating among 16 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $94.69, modestly above the reported $90.78 share price.
• Boyd Gaming reported quarterly EPS of $1.93, topping the $1.89 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.03 billion narrowly missed expectations. The stock was near its 52-week high, with a market capitalization of approximately $6.75 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 and authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program. Meanwhile, insiders sold 212,777 shares worth $18.2 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $94.6923.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 212,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,185,850 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 1,466.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,965 shares of the company's stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 30,860 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at $15,551,000. III Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $4,177,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $1,922,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth about $1,256,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $90.78 on Thursday. 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 has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $91.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.00, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.90.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.34% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Boyd Gaming's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is 3.52%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.