Norges Bank Purchases New Shares in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 765,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,553,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 185,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 9,565 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 202,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,569,000 after buying an additional 140,707 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BYD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.68, for a total transaction of $3,884,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,346,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,606,063.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,852 shares in the company, valued at $365,258.56. The trade was a 18.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490. 21.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $63.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. Boyd Gaming Co. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $80.50. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $72.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.05.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. On average, analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.