Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 138,809 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 66.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138,809 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.09% of Boyd Gaming worth $5,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 679.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,122,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,842,000 after purchasing an additional 978,853 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,295,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,304,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 109.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,576,000 after buying an additional 342,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,701,000 after buying an additional 174,214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $110.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $1,632,512.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,839,732.31. This trade represents a 47.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 73,454 shares of company stock worth $6,231,827. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $83.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.68, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.19. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.94 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.35.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.33. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 45.05%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 3.52%.

Boyd Gaming Profile

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.