Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 0.58% from the stock’s previous close.

BYD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.77.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $74.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.96. Boyd Gaming has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.43, for a total transaction of $1,539,245.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 438,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,330,269.45. This trade represents a 4.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total transaction of $2,939,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $10,540,944. Company insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,031,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,046,000 after purchasing an additional 335,984 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,108,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,680,000 after purchasing an additional 17,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,153,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,611,000 after purchasing an additional 33,379 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 19.7% in the second 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, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 5.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 971,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,835,000 after acquiring an additional 54,128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.