Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on BYD. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.4 %

BYD stock opened at $76.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $80.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,835,980.40. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % 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 valued at $5,123,749 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,360,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at $241,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 48,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,105,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.