Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,270,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the July 15th total of 3,880,000 shares. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,874 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.38, for a total value of $100,034.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,802.44. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BYD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BYD traded up $0.56 on Friday, reaching $58.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,138,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,634. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.09. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $68.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.09. The business 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 34.08% and a net margin of 13.32%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BYD. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.08.

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.