Van ECK Associates Corp Has $756,000 Stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $76.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $80.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.77 and its 200 day moving average is $68.94.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,660 shares of company stock worth $5,123,749 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.