Is Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) a good investment?
In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are a multitude of gauges investors can use to track publicly traded companies. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite hedge fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Equally as crucial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to look at the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of incentives for a bullish insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if piggybackers know where to look (learn more here).
Furthermore, let’s examine the recent info surrounding Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD).
What have hedge funds been doing with Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)?
At Q2’s end, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings substantially.
When using filings from the hedgies we track, Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro’s PAR Capital Management had the largest position in Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), worth close to $93.9 million, accounting for 2.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Rehan Jaffer of H Partners Management, with a $43.5 million position; 3.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other peers that are bullish include Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, John Thaler’s JAT Capital Management and Don Morgan’s Brigade Capital.
Since Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) has faced declining interest from the smart money’s best and brightest, it’s safe to say that there were a few fund managers that elected to cut their positions entirely heading into Q2. Interestingly, Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management dumped the biggest investment of the 450+ funds we key on, valued at about $11 million in stock, and Jacob Doft of Highline Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $7.1 million worth. These moves are interesting, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).
What have insiders been doing with Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)?
Bullish insider trading is at its handiest when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD). These stocks are Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG), The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC), Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA), and Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK). This group of stocks are in the resorts & casinos industry and their market caps match BYD’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG) | 0 | 0 | |
| The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp (NYSE:VAC) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Ameristar Casinos, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASCA) | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NYSE:PNK) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
Using the results demonstrated by our strategies, regular investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) applies perfectly to this mantra.
