Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Stock Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,134 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,972 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.20% of Boyd Gaming worth $12,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,980,306 shares of the company's stock worth $485,442,000 after purchasing an additional 167,849 shares in the last quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the third quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company's stock worth $136,868,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 885.4% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,657,441 shares of the company's stock worth $100,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,240 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 40.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 824,200 shares of the company's stock worth $50,136,000 after purchasing an additional 237,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 22.0% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 554,804 shares of the company's stock worth $33,749,000 after purchasing an additional 100,219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total value of $7,971,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,358,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total transaction of $159,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total transaction of $7,971,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,330,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,359. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.44 and its 200 day moving average is $61.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.64. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $52.42 and a twelve month high of $73.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The business had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Boyd Gaming's dividend payout ratio is 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.