Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,328 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,014 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. III Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. III Capital Management now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,504,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 223,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,078,000 after acquiring an additional 28,844 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 398,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,849,000 after purchasing an additional 51,252 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 301.7% in the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 28,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after purchasing an additional 21,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Boyd Gaming from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $74.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.31.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $64.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.57. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $68.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The business had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $909.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming 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.