Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) shares reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $75.81 and last traded at $76.0890, with a volume of 12605 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BYD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 3.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.34% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 12,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.76, for a total value of $1,146,863.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 422,969 shares in the company, valued at $37,965,697.44. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 23.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.3% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation is a gaming and hospitality company that owns and operates casinos, hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and related amenities. Its properties offer casino games such as slots, table games and poker, along with lodging, dining, convention and entertainment services.

Founded in 1975 by gaming executive Sam Boyd, the company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boyd Gaming operates regional gaming properties across several U.S. states, including Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio and Pennsylvania.