Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Acquires New Stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 289,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,675,000. Boyd Gaming makes up 0.6% of Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,295,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,099,000 after acquiring an additional 405,340 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 109.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,576,000 after acquiring an additional 342,575 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 174.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 274,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,701,000 after acquiring an additional 174,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,221,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,580,000 after acquiring an additional 173,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $1,632,512.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,839,732.31. This represents a 47.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total value of $2,054,114.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at $37,413,151.56. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814. 22.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $79.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.63. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 52 week low of $72.01 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.11.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The company had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Boyd Gaming

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.