Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Lifted to Overweight at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $74.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $66.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BYD. Raymond James initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an outperform rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Macquarie decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $90.75.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $59.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.58. Boyd Gaming has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $68.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,737,284.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,154.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 857,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,697,000 after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,756,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,638,000 after purchasing an additional 628,512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.