Josh Hirsberg Sells 23,924 Shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Stock

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 23,924 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.86, for a total transaction of $2,054,114.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 435,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,413,151.56. This represents a 5.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of BYD traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $82.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,011,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,208. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.94 and a 1-year high of $89.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 30.14% and a net margin of 45.05%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is 3.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BYD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $110.00 target price on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price objective on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group set a $110.00 target price on Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,427,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,708,000 after purchasing an additional 773,394 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 1,333.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 204,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,419,000 after buying an additional 190,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Boyd Gaming by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming’s offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.