Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,792 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 255,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,792 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of Boyd Gaming worth $15,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BYD. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 3.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 146,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,930,000 after purchasing an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 3.7% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,221,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 1.5% during the third quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,161,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.3% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 107,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,540,000 after acquiring an additional 38,745 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total value of $7,971,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at $596,817,882.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total transaction of $7,971,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.92, for a total transaction of $4,794,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,119,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,566,430. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 463,618 shares of company stock worth $29,564,319 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BYD shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.42.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $51.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.50. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $51.45 and a twelve month high of $73.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $960.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $947.26 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.76%. As a group, research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

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.