2,822 Shares in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.8 %

BYD opened at $67.81 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $80.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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 of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase 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 1.06%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BYD shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.20.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $116,835,980.40. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.