Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Stock Position Lifted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 197.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,409 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,204 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 13.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 47.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $85.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.74, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a twelve month low of $70.48 and a twelve month high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced 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 company had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on BYD shares. Mizuho reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Company 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.