Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD), one of the largest operators of casinos frequented by Las Vegas locals, announced on Thursday that it is raising its quarterly dividend by 5.9%, from 17 cents to 18 cents per share. This modest increase of a penny per share per quarter brings the new annual payout to 72 cents per share and pushes the operator’s dividend yield closer to 1%, based on Thursday’s closing price. As of the close of US markets, Boyd shares yielded 0.86%. The Las Vegas-based company’s board of directors approved the raise.
The dividend is payable on April 15, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 17, 2025.
Boyd Gaming operates 10 gaming venues in its home market, including Aliante, California, Cannery, Fremont, Gold Coast, Jokers Wild, Main Street Station, Sam’s Town, Suncoast, and The Orleans. Additionally, it runs regional casinos in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Boyd Quietly Becoming a Dividend Growth Story During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Boyd was the first casino operator to suspend its dividend to conserve cash. Since restoring its cash distribution in 2022, Boyd has quietly become a solid dividend growth story. The company has increased its dividend three times since then, including Thursday’s announcement. Each of these increases occurred in February. Shares of Boyd have risen 9.48% year to date and 25.33% over the past month, making it one of the best-performing gaming equities over those periods.
The prevailing wisdom on Wall Street is that Boyd has one of the sturdier balance sheets relative to its competitors, which supports dividends and share buybacks. Stifel analyst Steven Wieczynski recently noted, “With a pristine balance sheet (for a gaming operator we mean), a management that is willing to aggressively return cash to shareholders, and now some built-in growth, we believe the sentiment on BYD could continue more bullish.”
Boyd: Best of Breed Among Regional Casino Stocks Over the past couple of years, the regional casino equity thesis has been challenged by consumers dialing back spending amid elevated inflation and high interest rates. However, Boyd managed to fight through those headwinds last year, a resilience that has not gone unnoticed on Wall Street.
Shares of BYD continue to outperform their regional gaming peer group by a wide margin. Analyst Steven Wieczynski attributes this to a combination of quality, a best-in-class balance sheet, growth opportunities, and essentially a call option on digital. “If investors need regional gaming exposure, BYD remains the most compelling name to own, in our opinion,” he added.
The digital call option referenced by Wieczynski includes Boyd’s 5% stake in FanDuel and its own growing iGaming unit.
