New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $4.84 Million Holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its Boyd Gaming stake by 19.8%, selling 13,992 shares and leaving it with 56,730 shares worth about $4.84 million (≈0.07% of the company).
• Company insiders sold a large amount of stock last quarter — 173,454 shares worth $14.68 million (including CFO Josh Hirsberg and Stephen S. Thompson) — leaving insiders with about 22.82% ownership.
• Boyd Gaming missed quarterly EPS ($1.60 vs. $1.76 est.), but its board authorized a $500 million repurchase program (up to 7.7% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.20 ($0.80 annualized, 0.9% yield).

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,730 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,992 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.07% of Boyd Gaming worth $4,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 229,823 shares of the company's stock worth $19,868,000 after buying an additional 111,815 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 127,303 shares of the company's stock worth $11,005,000 after buying an additional 55,923 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company's stock worth $23,701,000 after acquiring an additional 174,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,073,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $1,632,512.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,839,732.31. This represents a 47.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 173,454 shares of company stock worth $14,680,814 in the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE BYD opened at $85.33 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 3.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $69.01 and a one year high of $89.96. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

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 (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $92.08.

About Boyd Gaming

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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