Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Stake Boosted by Diametric Capital LP

Diametric Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 241.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,630 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,149 shares during the period. Boyd Gaming comprises approximately 2.1% of Diametric Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $3,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,185,000 after buying an additional 1,065,887 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth $55,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $43,273,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,074,000 after purchasing an additional 441,963 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 964,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,932,000 after purchasing an additional 261,443 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.20.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 over the last 90 days. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:BYD opened at $65.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $49.34 and a 12 month high of $80.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.10.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming 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.