Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 68.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,581 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $74.17 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $80.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost 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 0.97%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.20.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $1,189,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock worth $5,123,749. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.