JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,458,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93,874 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.65% of Boyd Gaming worth $94,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,062,000 after purchasing an additional 9,565 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 3.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 167,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,831,000 after buying an additional 32,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3.2% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 28,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Barclays increased 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total transaction of $1,744,499.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,487,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $71.83 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.98. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73.

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 paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.