Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Mizuho from $96.00 to $101.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Mizuho’s target price points to a potential upside of 13.76% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Texas Capital upgraded Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.15.

Boyd Gaming Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:BYD traded down $0.98 on Friday, reaching $88.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 100,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 949,092. Boyd Gaming has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $91.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.79. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The company had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 1,609,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $135,272,166.24. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 200,000 shares of company stock valued at $17,038,987 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1,466.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 32,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,810,000 after buying an additional 30,860 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $15,551,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,922,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,256,000. Finally, III Capital Management purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.