AdvisorShares Investments LLC Sells 6,799 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

AdvisorShares Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 57.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,799 shares during the quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 139.9% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $82.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $72.71 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.68.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on BYD shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.08.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.