Morgan Stanley Lowers Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $72.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.37% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.27.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $64.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.31. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.84 and its 200 day moving average is $71.02.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.