Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $78.63 and last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 1874458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.49.

The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.77, for a total value of $2,153,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,131,202 shares in the company, valued at $81,186,367.54. This trade represents a 2.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,660 shares of company stock valued at $7,307,149 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 61.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 16,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 1.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.49.

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.