SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 63,669 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its Boyd Gaming stake by 426% in the first quarter, buying 63,669 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 78,616 shares worth about $6.46 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: Boyd Gaming has a consensus Hold rating, with an average price target of $92.57, though Texas Capital recently upgraded the stock to Strong Buy.
• The company reported earnings and revenue below expectations in its latest quarter, but it also announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend and a new $500 million share repurchase program.

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 426.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,616 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,669 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.10% of Boyd Gaming worth $6,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 108,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,737 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 711.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 67,813 shares of the company's stock worth $5,792,000 after purchasing an additional 59,460 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,253 shares of the company's stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 72.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the company's stock worth $2,091,000 after purchasing an additional 10,270 shares during the period. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BYD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last three months. Insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

BYD stock opened at $89.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $90.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.51. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be 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 is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

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

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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