Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD) is seeing a significant increase in short interest

Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD – Get Free Report ) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,530,000 shares, an increase of 8.0% from July 31st’s total of 3,270,000 shares. About 5.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Boyd Gaming Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BYD stock opened at $60.02 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.68. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 0.83, and a quick ratio of 0.79. Boyd Gaming has a 1 year low of $49.34 and a 1 year high of $68.46.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $967.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $909.49 million. Boyd Gaming had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 34.29%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted earnings of $1.58 per share. sell-side analysts predict that Boyd Gaming will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming announces dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.68 and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13. Boyd Gaming’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.21%.

Boyd Gaming declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to acquire up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that a company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BYD shares. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Boyd Gaming from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Boyd Gaming from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Boyd Gaming from $337.00 to $308.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday , May 16. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.08, based on data from MarketBeat.

Check out our latest report on Boyd Gaming

Insider activity at Boyd Gaming

In related news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this link. In other Boyd Gaming news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 73,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $4,404,619.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,423,498 shares in the company, valued at $85,737,284.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, Director Christine J. Spadafor sold 1,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.36, for a total transaction of $74,967.12. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,154.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 27.94% of the shares are owned by company insiders.

Institutional inputs and outputs

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BYD. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 57.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 58.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 783 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the first quarter worth $90,000. 76.81% of the shares are held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Boyd Gaming

(Get a free report)

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 the Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South and Online segments.

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