Versor Investments LP Increases Position in Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 180.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,584 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,173 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $2,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 3.6%

BYD stock opened at $82.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.66. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $72.01 and a 52 week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted 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 business 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 business’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boyd Gaming

In related news, insider Stephen S. Thompson sold 19,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $1,632,512.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,009 shares in the company, valued at $1,839,732.31. This trade represents a 47.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to 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.