Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 197.5% in Q4 to 24,409 shares (~$2.08M), and other large institutions (UBS, Invesco, Allianz, Franklin) also boosted positions, leaving institutional ownership at 76.81%.
• Boyd Gaming missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.60 vs. $1.76 and revenue of $997.4M vs. $1.04B, while analysts' consensus remains an average "Hold" with a $92.08 target.
• Insiders have been net sellers—Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares and insiders offloaded 173,454 shares (~$14.68M) over three months—yet the board approved a $500M share repurchase and declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend (0.9% yield).

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 197.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,409 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,204 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the third quarter worth $50,295,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company's stock worth $52,099,000 after acquiring an additional 405,340 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 109.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company's stock worth $56,576,000 after acquiring an additional 342,575 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 174.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company's stock worth $23,701,000 after acquiring an additional 174,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 16.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,221,283 shares of the company's stock worth $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 173,868 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were 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 represents a 47.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 173,454 shares of company stock worth $14,680,814. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

BYD stock opened at $85.23 on Friday. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.48 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 3.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Boyd Gaming's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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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