Wells Fargo & Company Increases Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $88.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Boyd Gaming from $81 to $88 while keeping an equal weight rating, implying modest upside from the current share price.
• Boyd Gaming recently reported Q1 earnings below expectations, with EPS of $1.60 versus the $1.76 consensus and revenue of $997.36 million versus estimates of $1.04 billion.
• The company has authorized a $500 million share buyback, a move often seen as a sign management believes the stock may be undervalued.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $88.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.52% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BYD. Benchmark began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Boyd Gaming from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded Boyd Gaming to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.54.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 308,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 952,188. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.75. Boyd Gaming has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $91.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The business 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%. Boyd Gaming's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 1,466.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,810,000 after buying an additional 30,860 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,551,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.9% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 41,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 13,287 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,922,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth $1,256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company's stock.

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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