Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at Morgan Stanley

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

BYD has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Macquarie lowered their target price on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $64.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $49.34 and a one year high of $68.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.75 and a 200 day moving average of $58.37.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The company had revenue of $967.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $909.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Boyd Gaming’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total value of $74,967.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,154.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,046,000 after acquiring an additional 335,984 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 10.0% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,031,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,276,000 after acquiring an additional 274,876 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 4.0% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,899,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,864,000 after acquiring an additional 73,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,349,000 after acquiring an additional 189,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,002,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.