Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $78.63 and last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 1874458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.13.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 2.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $2,164,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,101,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,451,724.30. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149 in the last 90 days. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 6,158.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,761,000 after acquiring an additional 894,383 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,273,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 4,816.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 184,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,320,000 after purchasing an additional 180,806 shares during the last quarter. Goldentree Asset Management LP bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,490,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 226.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,569,000 after purchasing an additional 140,707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.