Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $76.93 and last traded at $77.00, with a volume of 210951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BYD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.80.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.98%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $1,744,499.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,190,719.50. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 61,599 shares during the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,101,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 201.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 49,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after acquiring an additional 33,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.