Aristides Capital LLC Invests $256,000 in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth about $1,220,000. III Capital Management grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. III Capital Management now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 223,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,078,000 after acquiring an additional 28,844 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 398,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,849,000 after acquiring an additional 51,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $117,720,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $124,802.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.31.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE BYD traded up $2.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.05. 2,229,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 869,694. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $72.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.08%. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

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.