HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 26.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,564 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 5.4% during the third quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 25,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,336,734.98. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 in the last ninety days. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.5 %

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $71.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.71. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $76.73. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.64.

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.