Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Rating Lowered to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They currently have a $81.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $82.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on BYD. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

BYD opened at $76.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 12-month low of $49.34 and a 12-month high of $80.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.77 and a 200-day moving average of $69.04.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $1,189,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. This represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 65,660 shares of company stock valued at $5,123,749. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during 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.