Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $71.00. The stock had previously closed at $62.89, but opened at $54.14. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Boyd Gaming shares last traded at $54.53, with a volume of 1,524,061 shares changing hands.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $71.00 in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,358,913 shares in the company, valued at $596,817,882.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. Boyd sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total value of $3,202,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,617,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,614,798.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total value of $7,971,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,358,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,817,882.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock worth $37,299,461. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 105.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3,333.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 15.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.01.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $954.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors 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 yield of 1.28%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.15%.

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.