HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 26.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,564 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 58.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 15.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Burney Co. now owns 72,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,006,000 after buying an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BYD has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $79.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming 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 target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.64.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BYD opened at $71.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.71. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

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

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $1,744,499.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,190,719.50. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,364 shares of company stock worth $10,590,893 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

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.