Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Buy” Rating

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $92.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $73.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BYD. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $72.92 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $76.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $72.58 and its 200 day moving average is $64.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,190,719.50. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 in the last three months. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.