Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Announces Earnings Results

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21, Zacks reports. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 35.10%.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:BYD traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,881,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,282. Boyd Gaming has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $78.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.29.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on BYD shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total transaction of $2,153,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,131,202 shares in the company, valued at $81,186,367.54. The trade was a 2.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149 in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.