JPMorgan Chase & Co. Downgrades Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) to Neutral

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $67.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $80.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on BYD. Mizuho began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a buy rating and a $80.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 15.4 %

NYSE:BYD opened at $53.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $52.42 and a one year high of $73.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.77% and a net margin of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.2 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 12.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.92, for a total value of $4,794,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,119,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,566,430. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.92, for a total value of $4,794,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,119,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,566,430. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461 in the last three months. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 885.4% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,657,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,240 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,121 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $44,773,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,756,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,638,000 after acquiring an additional 628,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $18,091,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.