Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of BYD stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $86.63. 1,311,439 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,966. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $76.33 and a 52 week high of $91.00. The stock has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $85.52 and its 200-day moving average is $84.84.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BYD has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $96.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.38.

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

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.