Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Boyd Gaming in the first quarter, buying 16,800 shares valued at about $1.38 million.
• Boyd Gaming recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, missing analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $997.36 million, also below estimates.
• The company approved a $500 million stock buyback and will pay a $0.20 quarterly dividend on July 15, though analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,381,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company's stock worth $121,708,000 after purchasing an additional 773,394 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,763,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,295,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company's stock worth $52,099,000 after purchasing an additional 405,340 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,675,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BYD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Texas Capital raised Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.15.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $87.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day moving average is $84.87 and its 200 day moving average is $84.66. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $91.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The firm had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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