M&T Bank Corp Takes Position in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• M&T Bank purchased a new stake of 13,830 shares in Boyd Gaming during Q4, valued at about $1.18 million.
• Boyd missed quarterly estimates—reported EPS of $1.60 vs. $1.76 expected and revenue of $997.4M vs. $1.04B—and the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $92.08 price target.
• The board authorized a $500 million buyback (up to 7.7% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.20, while insiders have sold shares totaling 73,454 over the past three months.

M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 94.8% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,868,000 after acquiring an additional 111,815 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 78.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,005,000 after acquiring an additional 55,923 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,701,000 after acquiring an additional 174,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,073,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total value of $2,054,114.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. The trade was a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 30,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $2,545,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,930,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,779,123.48. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 73,454 shares of company stock worth $6,231,827. 22.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $86.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.58. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1 year low of $68.98 and a 1 year high of $89.96. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.19.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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