Should You Avoid Boyd Gaming Corporation (BYD)?

Due to the fact that Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) has witnessed declining sentiment from hedge fund managers, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedgies that slashed their full holdings by the end of the third quarter. At the top of the heap, Ira Unschuld’s Brant Point Investment Management dumped the largest investment of the 700 funds monitored by Insider Monkey, totaling an estimated $4.6 million in stock, and Robert B. Gillam’s McKinley Capital Management was right behind this move, as the fund dropped about $3.8 million worth of shares. These transactions are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 4 funds by the end of the third quarter.

Let’s now review hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) but similarly valued. These stocks are Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM), Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT), Bloomin’ Brands Inc (NASDAQ:BLMN), and Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA). All of these stocks’ market caps match BYD’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $179 million. That figure was $668 million in BYD’s case. Verint Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:VRNT) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (NYSE:APAM) is the least popular one with only 10 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers and have a lot of money invested in it, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio, despite the recent declines in sentiment.

Disclosure: None