Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 439,050 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,038 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $31,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BYD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised Boyd Gaming from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 1.3 %

BYD stock opened at $68.25 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $49.34 and a 12 month high of $80.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.89.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 11.58%.

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.