Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) CFO Josh Hirsberg Sells 12,777 Shares of Stock

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 12,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.76, for a total value of $1,146,863.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 422,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,965,697.44. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 2.0%

Boyd Gaming stock traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $91.10. 1,233,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 975,101. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 4.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.85. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $91.41.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.34% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.52%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BYD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho set a $104.00 target price on Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.