Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Downgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to Hold

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $71.00 price target on the stock, down from their prior price target of $78.00.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BYD. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a buy rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Boyd Gaming from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $80.00 to $67.00 in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Boyd Gaming Stock Down 15.4 %

BYD stock opened at $53.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.98 and a 200 day moving average of $62.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. Boyd Gaming has a 52 week low of $52.42 and a 52 week high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 34.77%. The company had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.04 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. Boyd Gaming’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming will post 6.19 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Ted Bogich sold 41,631 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.79, for a total transaction of $2,697,272.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 66,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,328,166.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Boyd Gaming news, Director A. Randall Thoman sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.75, for a total value of $159,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,083.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Ted Bogich sold 41,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.79, for a total transaction of $2,697,272.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 66,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,328,166.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 582,910 shares of company stock valued at $37,299,461. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 105.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 411 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 57.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Boyd Gaming by 3,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

About Boyd Gaming

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.