Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $391,000 Position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 40.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,736 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BYD. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total transaction of $84,690.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,125 shares of company stock worth $5,158,490 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BYD opened at $66.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.73 and its 200-day moving average is $70.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is currently 11.58%.

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

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.