Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Holdings in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,296,863 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 441,963 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $94,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BYD. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 80.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William R. Boyd sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 1,472,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,835,980.40. The trade was a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.28, for a total value of $84,690.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $365,258.56. This represents a 18.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,125 shares of company stock valued at $5,158,490. Corporate insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Boyd Gaming from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered Boyd Gaming from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $81.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.20.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $65.76 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.55. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 1-year low of $49.34 and a 1-year high of $80.50.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 35.97%. Research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.58%.

Boyd Gaming 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.