Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 53,027 Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 53,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,847,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Boyd Gaming at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BYD. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

BYD opened at $69.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.54. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490 in the last quarter. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.20.

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.