Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 3,521 Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP purchased 3,521 shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) in the 1st quarter, valued at approximately $232,000.
• Wall Street analysts have increased their price targets for Boyd Gaming, with Barclays raising it from $73.00 to $87.00 and Mizuho from $86.00 to $89.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.
• Boyd Gaming recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with a low payout ratio of 11.08%.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,521 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter valued at about $443,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,602 shares of the company's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,641,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 47.8% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 4,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter valued at $368,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE BYD traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $82.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,036,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,224. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.83 and a 1-year high of $87.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.23. The company has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.81 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 40.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Ted Bogich sold 16,497 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.18, for a total transaction of $1,372,220.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,752,748.88. This trade represents a 26.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 15,906 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total value of $1,324,174.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,214,199.25. This represents a 29.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna downgraded Boyd Gaming from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $79.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Boyd Gaming Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.