Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $64.64 and traded as high as $71.37. Boyd Gaming shares last traded at $71.14, with a volume of 1,021,267 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Argus raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.64.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last quarter. Insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,046,000 after buying an additional 335,984 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after buying an additional 17,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,611,000 after buying an additional 33,379 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,349,000 after buying an additional 189,226 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 5.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 971,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,835,000 after buying an additional 54,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.