Argus Lowers Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) to Hold

Argus cut shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

BYD has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Boyd Gaming from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $54.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.84. 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 has a 12-month low of $52.42 and a 12-month high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $954.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.04 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $555,168,740.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total value of $159,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total transaction of $4,005,847.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,168,740.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 582,910 shares of company stock worth $37,299,461. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,032,000 after buying an additional 17,321 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth about $1,898,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 13.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 150,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,130,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.