Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Raises Stock Holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital increased its Boyd Gaming stake by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 277,529 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1.76 million shares worth about $149.7 million.
• Several company insiders sold shares recently, including Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson and CEO Keith Smith, with insiders selling 200,000 shares total last quarter.
• Boyd Gaming reported mixed fundamentals: quarterly EPS and revenue both missed estimates, even as the board authorized a $500 million share repurchase plan and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,755,659 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 277,529 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 2.25% of Boyd Gaming worth $149,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the first 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. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 139.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at $53,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $87.49 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $84.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.23. 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 $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 3.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.90 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The company had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Texas Capital raised Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.08.

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.