R Squared Ltd Invests $156,000 in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 21,549 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.43, for a total transaction of $1,539,245.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 438,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 122,209 shares of company stock valued at $8,846,394. 27.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $76.61 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.50 and its 200 day moving average is $66.65. Boyd Gaming Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $77.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BYD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.80.

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.