Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) to Buy

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $92.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $73.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 26.17% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Boyd Gaming from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Boyd Gaming from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Argus raised Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.67.

Boyd Gaming Stock Performance

NYSE:BYD opened at $72.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.54. Boyd Gaming has a 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $76.73.

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

Insider Activity

In other Boyd Gaming news, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $49,948.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,977 shares in the company, valued at $452,339.36. The trade was a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.49, for a total value of $2,939,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,161,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,336,734.98. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,364 shares of company stock valued at $10,590,893 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 27.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Boyd Gaming

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Boyd Gaming by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Boyd Gaming by 54.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 587 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 150.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 921.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.81% of the company’s stock.

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.