Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $75.81 and last traded at $76.0890, with a volume of 12605 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.69.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.33, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Josh Hirsberg sold 12,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.76, for a total transaction of $1,146,863.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 422,969 shares in the company, valued at $37,965,697.44. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 22.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the second quarter valued at approximately $486,737,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Boyd Gaming by 8,477.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,553,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,578,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489,173 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Boyd Gaming in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,043,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 118.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at $58,763,000. Institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.