Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price upped by Mizuho from $79.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

BYD has been the topic of a number of other reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $77.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.10 and a 200 day moving average of $67.49. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.10% and a net margin of 13.01%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th 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 increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd 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 boosted 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 in the last quarter. 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.