Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 83,626 Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 83,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,066,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 21.0% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 85.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 6,158.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 908,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,761,000 after purchasing an additional 894,383 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 2.0 %

BYD opened at $65.88 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 52 week low of $49.34 and a 52 week high of $80.50. 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 (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.58%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,472,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,835,980.40. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.