Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 45,437 Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 253,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,437 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $21,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,478,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,784,000 after acquiring an additional 153,462 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 16.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 109.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,576,000 after acquiring an additional 342,575 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 196.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,099,000 after acquiring an additional 405,340 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 600,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,876,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BYD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.84, for a total value of $2,545,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,930,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,779,123.48. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 173,454 shares of company stock valued at $14,680,814. 22.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $79.08 on Tuesday. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 52 week low of $72.01 and a 52 week high of $89.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.47, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.62.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The business 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 company earned $1.62 EPS. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

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

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.