Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $89.02 and last traded at $88.74, with a volume of 336495 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on BYD. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $86.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $110.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.00.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.87, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 11th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $707.32 million during the quarter. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 46.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.15%.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Director William R. Boyd sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $1,607,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,960,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $157,541,520.92. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,471,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 2nd quarter valued at about $402,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the first quarter valued at about $206,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the first quarter worth about $1,939,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming in the first quarter worth about $3,017,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.