Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $92.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $73.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.17% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE BYD opened at $72.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.19. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73. The company has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BYD. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.4% during the third quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 25,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.