Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 171,579 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 683,674 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,579 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $58,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD stock opened at $83.86 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.26. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $89.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly 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). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Boyd Gaming’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

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.