JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $90.00 to $93.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BYD. Citigroup raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.77.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $87.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $85.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.77. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $91.00.

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

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.51%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last three months. 22.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 1,466.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 30,860 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at $15,551,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $1,922,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at $1,256,000. Finally, III Capital Management bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,177,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.