Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation by 2.8%, now owning approximately 3.81% of the company, valued at $203.9 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Boyd Gaming, with Victory Capital Management increasing its stake by 13.3%, now holding over 1 million shares.
• Boyd Gaming's stock received varying price target updates from analysts, with targets ranging from $86.00 to $100.00, and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Ariel Investments LLC trimmed its position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,097,811 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,589 shares during the quarter. Boyd Gaming accounts for approximately 2.4% of Ariel Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 3.81% of Boyd Gaming worth $203,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter valued at about $598,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 75,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,989,000 after buying an additional 4,977 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 692,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,587,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,963,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth approximately $764,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.40. 592,445 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,528. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a twelve month low of $57.67 and a twelve month high of $87.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.36.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 11.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.17, for a total transaction of $8,417,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,504,379 shares in the company, valued at $126,623,580.43. The trade was a 6.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 15,906 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,214,199.25. This represents a 29.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 385,438 shares of company stock worth $32,638,085. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on BYD. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "sell" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.62.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.