Brokerages Set Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) Price Target at $92.58

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.5833.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BYD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price target on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $80.15 on Friday. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $58.94 and a fifty-two week high of $89.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.39. 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 $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 3.52%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 22,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,839,732.31. The trade was a 47.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total transaction of $2,545,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,930,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,779,123.48. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 73,454 shares of company stock valued at $6,231,827 over the last 90 days. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 679.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,122,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,842,000 after buying an additional 978,853 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after buying an additional 773,394 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,933,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,295,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,099,000 after acquiring an additional 405,340 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.