Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $101.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target raised by Mizuho from $96.00 to $101.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Texas Capital raised Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.15.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $87.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Boyd Gaming has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $91.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.Boyd Gaming’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1,466.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 30,860 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,551,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,922,000. III Capital Management bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $4,177,000. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $1,256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% 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.