Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $65.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $71.00 to $65.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

BYD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Susquehanna restated a neutral rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $53.18 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a 1 year low of $52.42 and a 1 year high of $73.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.03. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 12.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 77,661 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.87, for a total transaction of $5,037,869.07. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,511,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,046,658.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.77, for a total value of $7,971,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,358,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,817,882.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 77,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.87, for a total transaction of $5,037,869.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,511,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,046,658.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter worth about $1,220,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter worth about $4,408,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 47,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,213,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 31,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. 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.