19,500 Shares in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,221,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 885.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,657,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,240 shares during the last quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. HG Vora Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,868,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 824,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,136,000 after acquiring an additional 237,525 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth about $117,720,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,980,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,442,000 after acquiring an additional 167,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

Shares of BYD opened at $63.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.01. Boyd Gaming Co. has a 12-month low of $52.42 and a 12-month high of $73.00.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 16.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from Boyd Gaming’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Boyd Gaming’s payout ratio is presently 11.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $555,168,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder William S. Boyd sold 63,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.12, for a total value of $4,005,847.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,795,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $555,168,740.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William R. Boyd sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total value of $3,202,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,617,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,614,798.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 582,910 shares of company stock worth $37,299,461 in the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BYD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Boyd Gaming in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of Boyd Gaming in a report on Monday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.30.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

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.