Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 105.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 6,158.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,761,000 after purchasing an additional 894,383 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4,816.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 184,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,320,000 after purchasing an additional 180,806 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth about $11,490,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 226.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,569,000 after purchasing an additional 140,707 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth about $7,101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. The trade was 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of BYD opened at $76.86 on Friday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $80.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 4.46 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.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BYD. Argus raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Boyd Gaming 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.