Meeder Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management boosted its Boyd Gaming stake by 150.2% in the first quarter, buying an additional 70,216 shares and bringing its total holding to 116,974 shares worth about $9.6 million.
• Boyd Gaming reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.60 falling short of estimates and revenue of $997.4 million also missing expectations, though revenue was slightly higher year over year.
• The company continues to return capital through a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share and a $500 million share repurchase program authorized by its board.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 150.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,974 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,216 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Boyd Gaming worth $9,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BYD. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,755,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,652,000 after buying an additional 277,529 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,708,000 after acquiring an additional 773,394 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,412 shares of the company's stock worth $115,706,000 after acquiring an additional 136,129 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,209 shares of the company's stock worth $115,537,000 after acquiring an additional 285,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,080,331 shares of the company's stock worth $92,087,000 after acquiring an additional 103,684 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $87.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $91.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50-day moving average is $85.19 and its 200 day moving average is $84.81.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Texas Capital upgraded Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last three months. 22.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming 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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