Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) by 91.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 189,885 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Boyd Gaming were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter worth about $229,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Boyd Gaming by 14,719.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,091 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Texas Capital raised Boyd Gaming to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Boyd Gaming in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 12,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.76, for a total transaction of $1,146,863.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 422,969 shares in the company, valued at $37,965,697.44. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 22.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE BYD opened at $83.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.77. The company has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 3.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $91.41.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 44.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.