Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 182,435 Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 182,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,551,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,478,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,784,000 after purchasing an additional 153,462 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,221,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,580,000 after purchasing an additional 173,868 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 109.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,576,000 after purchasing an additional 342,575 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,099,000 after purchasing an additional 405,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 600,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,876,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares during the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,413,151.56. This trade represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 143,454 shares of company stock valued at $12,135,614 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $79.39 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.66. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $72.01 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.48, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming 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.