Sanctuary Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 420% in Q4, buying an additional 15,948 shares to hold 19,745 shares valued at $1.683 million.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 73,454 shares in the past 90 days (about $6.23 million), including sales by CFO Josh Hirsberg and Stephen S. Thompson, bringing insider ownership to 22.82%.
• Boyd authorized a $500 million share buyback (up to 7.7% of shares) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20, even as Q1 EPS of $1.60 missed estimates and analysts maintain an overall "Hold" rating with an average target of $92.08.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 420.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,745 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,948 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 162.1% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 532 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 139.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 435,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $1,632,512.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,839,732.31. This represents a 47.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,454 shares of company stock valued at $6,231,827. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BYD shares. Susquehanna cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:BYD opened at $84.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.70, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.60. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12-month low of $68.98 and a 12-month high of $89.96.

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). The company had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

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

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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