Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Texas Capital

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Texas Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

BYD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $95.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of BYD opened at $88.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.60. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $72.71 and a 52 week high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $997.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 44.84% and a return on equity of 25.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Boyd Gaming will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Boyd Gaming

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. This represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total transaction of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 over the last three months. 22.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BYD. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the period. 76.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.