Quest Partners LLC Sells 22,174 Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Quest Partners LLC lowered its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 93.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,174 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $83,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at $44,773,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 627,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,290,000 after purchasing an additional 105,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 257,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,108,000 after purchasing an additional 33,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. Morgan Stanley raised Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,154.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

BYD stock opened at $62.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.53 and its 200-day moving average is $58.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.57. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $68.46.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.