Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.38.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

BYD stock traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $71.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,742,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,301. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. Boyd Gaming has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $72.18.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 34.29% and a net margin of 13.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,096 shares in the company, valued at $66,154.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,154.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,737,284.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,031,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,276,000 after buying an additional 274,876 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,899,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,864,000 after buying an additional 73,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,149,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,349,000 after acquiring an additional 189,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 0.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,002,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,485,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.