First Trust Advisors LP Has $51.23 Million Stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 47.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 592,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 530,234 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.76% of Boyd Gaming worth $51,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during 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 during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in 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 position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the first quarter worth $207,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 14.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,584,000 after purchasing an additional 9,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 219.8% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $110.00 price target on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.58.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $1,632,512.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,839,732.31. The trade was a 47.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 73,454 shares of company stock valued at $6,231,827 in the last quarter. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $82.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 3.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12-month low of $58.94 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $84.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.75.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.33. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 45.05% and a return on equity of 30.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 3.16%.

Boyd Gaming 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.