Mizuho Initiates Coverage on Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD)

Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Friday, January 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $67.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Boyd Gaming has a one year low of $52.42 and a one year high of $73.00. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 16.58% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $555,168,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total transaction of $159,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,083.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at $555,168,740.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461 over the last ninety days. 27.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 105.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 237.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 130.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.