Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Hits New 52-Week High on Earnings Beat

Shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $78.63 and last traded at $78.43, with a volume of 1874458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.49.

The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.21. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 35.97% and a net margin of 14.70%.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other Boyd Gaming news, CEO Keith Smith sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.15, for a total transaction of $2,164,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,101,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,451,724.30. The trade was a 2.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 100,660 shares of company stock worth $7,307,149 in the last 90 days. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 1.9 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.49. The company has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85.

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.