Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,818 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth about $565,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $805,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after buying an additional 17,321 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,898,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,168,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total transaction of $4,005,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $555,168,740.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE BYD opened at $62.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.06. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52 week low of $52.42 and a 52 week high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.04 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.15%.

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.