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

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target increased by Mizuho from $96.00 to $101.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.15.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of BYD stock opened at $87.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $85.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.82. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $91.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,755,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,652,000 after purchasing an additional 277,529 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,708,000 after buying an additional 773,394 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,706,000 after buying an additional 136,129 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,355,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,537,000 after acquiring an additional 285,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,080,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,087,000 after acquiring an additional 103,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.