EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has taken a new position in Boyd Gaming Corporation, purchasing 3,127 shares valued at approximately $206,000.
• Insider activity includes Chairperson Marianne Boyd Johnson selling 100,000 shares for $8.42 million, reducing her position by 6.23%.
• Boyd Gaming recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8% for shareholders of record.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 1.1% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the company's stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.4% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 47,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 7.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 28.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.9% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 30,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE:BYD traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.76. 540,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 758,352. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $58.94 and a one year high of $87.83. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

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

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BYD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $79.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "sell" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.62.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director William R. Boyd sold 9,774 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.61, for a total value of $797,656.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,239,492.68. The trade was a 39.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 100,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.62, for a total transaction of $8,662,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,704,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,633,308.98. This trade represents a 5.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 385,438 shares of company stock valued at $32,638,085 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

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.