Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the stock.

BYD has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of BYD opened at $77.09 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 35.10%. Analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total value of $2,153,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,131,202 shares in the company, valued at $81,186,367.54. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149 over the last three months. 28.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. 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.