Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Sells 17,469 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. trimmed its position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 316,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,469 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $26,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 139.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 84.4% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $2,545,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,930,447 shares in the company, valued at $163,779,123.48. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 173,454 shares of company stock worth $14,680,814 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BYD. Mizuho cut their price target on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $80.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 3.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $72.01 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.