Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Lowered to $89.00 at Morgan Stanley

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $89.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $89.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.93, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Boyd Gaming has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $91.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $86.03 and its 200-day moving average is $84.85.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 44.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.52%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 569,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,796,000 after purchasing an additional 46,146 shares during the last quarter. Seven Six Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Seven Six Capital Management LLC now owns 125,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,344,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 122,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,108,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 54.3% in the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 10.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,321,000 after buying an additional 6,245 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.