Will Boyd Gaming (BYD) Stock Make A Turnaround In 2019?

The year 2018 has turned out to be a disappointing one for the Gaming industry. Year to date, the industry has declined 35.2% compared with the S&P 500 decrease of 5.8%. Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) , which belongs to the same industry, is no exception. The stock has witnessed a sharp decline of 39.8% in the same time frame. However, as the old saying goes “All’s Well That Ends Well”, the company has displayed resilience of late.

In the last trading session, shares of the company witnessed a sharp gain of 9.1%, which is a big boost before we kick-start 2019. Let’s delve deeper.

Boyd Gaming Vs Industry Scorecard

Expansion to Drive Growth

Boyd Gaming continues to expand portfolio by strengthening current operations and growing through capital investment as well as other strategic measures. Further, the company has earlier announced that it has entered into agreement with Penn National Gaming to acquire the operations of Ameristar St. Charles; Ameristar Kansas City; Belterra Casino Resort in Florence, IN; and Belterra Park in Cincinnati, OH. It has completed the acquisition of Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, PA and four Pinnacle properties as well.

EBITDA & Margin Growth Continue to Improve

Boyd Gaming has been generating EBITDA growth for quite some time. In third-quarter 2018, the company reported EBITDA growth for the 14th quarter out of the last 15 quarters. Also, its Las Vegas achieved 14th successive quarter of EBITDA growth.

For 2018, Boyd Gaming raised its adjusted EBITDA guidance. The company now expects the metric to be in the range of $660-$675 million compared with $618-$633 million projected earlier.

For the past several quarters, the company has been reporting robust operating margin expansion.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Boyd Gaming, which shares space with Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) , has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other top-ranked stocks that warrant a look in the same space include Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) and Full House Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLL) . Churchill Downs has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), whereas Full House Resorts carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Churchill Downs reported better-than-expected earnings in the trailing three quarters.

Full House Resorts earnings are expected to witness 13.6% growth in 2018.

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