Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) Given New $80.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on BYD. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.80.

Boyd Gaming Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BYD opened at $75.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $73.21 and its 200-day moving average is $66.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Boyd Gaming has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $76.73.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio is 12.98%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,339.36. This trade represents a 9.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Boyd sold 25,155 shares of Boyd Gaming stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.35, for a total value of $1,744,499.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,487,970 shares in the company, valued at $103,190,719.50. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893. 27.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boyd Gaming

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 47,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 9,565 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 11,891.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 62,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 61,599 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,101,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 201.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 49,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 33,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.