Mizuho Lowers Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Price Target to $78.00

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price trimmed by Mizuho from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Boyd Gaming stock opened at $53.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.99. Boyd Gaming has a 12 month low of $52.42 and a 12 month high of $73.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.60.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 12.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP William R. Boyd sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total transaction of $3,202,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,617,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,614,798.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP William R. Boyd sold 50,000 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total transaction of $3,202,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,617,970 shares in the company, valued at $103,614,798.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 $256,083.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,015,000 after purchasing an additional 43,578 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,720,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 243,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,804,000 after acquiring an additional 19,256 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 4.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 274,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,682,000 after purchasing an additional 12,798 shares during the period. Finally, Black Diamond Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the third quarter valued at $4,988,000. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.