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

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target lifted by Susquehanna from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.13.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $76.72 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $78.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.23.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 12.98%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total value of $2,153,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,131,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,186,367.54. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149 in the last three months. Company insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BYD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 61.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter worth approximately $2,010,000. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 16,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.