Royce & Associates LP Makes New Investment in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP opened a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter, buying 75,846 shares worth about $6.47 million.
• Boyd Gaming’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $1.60 versus $1.76 expected and revenue of $997.36 million versus $1.04 billion expected.
• The company’s board approved a $500 million share buyback and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable July 15 for shareholders of record on June 15.

Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 75,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,465,000. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.10% of Boyd Gaming as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 2.7% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 854 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 4.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note 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 note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Boyd Gaming from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of BYD opened at $83.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $83.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.11. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $72.71 and a 1-year high of $89.96. 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 (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The company 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 posted $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.51%.

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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