Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 91.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,160 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,461 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 2,735.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $92.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Boyd Gaming from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

BYD stock traded down $0.99 on Wednesday, hitting $73.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 907,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 947,001. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.84. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $80.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $991.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $976.38 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Boyd Gaming's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.75%.

About Boyd Gaming

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.