Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Holdings Cut by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $1,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total value of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. The trade was a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last quarter. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.2%

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.05. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.00 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released 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). The business had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BYD. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.08.

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.