Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Purchases New Holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension opened a new position in Boyd Gaming, buying 289,472 shares worth about $24.7 million in the fourth quarter. The stake now represents 0.6% of its portfolio and makes Boyd Gaming its 16th-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains cautious on the stock: analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $92.08. Recent reports were mixed, with several firms trimming or slightly raising targets but mostly maintaining neutral/hold ratings.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson and executive Stephen S. Thompson, while the company also reported a recent earnings miss. Boyd Gaming posted $1.60 EPS versus $1.76 expected and revenue of $997.4 million versus estimates of $1.04 billion.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 289,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,675,000. Boyd Gaming comprises 0.6% of Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned 0.37% of Boyd Gaming at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the second quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $1,632,512.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,839,732.31. This trade represents a 47.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814 over the last three months. Insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $79.51 on Friday. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $72.01 and a one year high of $89.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.63. 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 $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. 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 announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually 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.

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.