Gotham Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,084 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,022 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $18,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 5,265,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,929,000 after buying an additional 21,616 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,955,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,887 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,074,000 after acquiring an additional 441,963 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,725,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 964,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,932,000 after purchasing an additional 261,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $72.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.32. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.10. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $991.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 11.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This trade represents a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total value of $3,884,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490. Insiders own 21.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.07.

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.