Image source: Boyd Gaming.
What: Shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (BYD -0.02%) popped 19% in March, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as regional gaming companies got some good news about gaming trends.
So what: The biggest news was that Nevada's statewide gaming revenue was up 8.1% to $989.8 million. Since Nevada and the Las Vegas-area market is the biggest market for Boyd, that's a good sign for operations in early 2016.
The company also announced a $500 million debt offering, which was actually increased to $750 million due to high demand. The debt comes with a 6.375% interest rate and will come due in 2026. With rates that low, it's easy to see why management would take the extra money, which could be used for growth or paying off near term debt.
Now what: There was concern that gaming would decline coming into 2016 if the economy weakened. But that doesn't appear to be the case -- instead, the regional gaming market is growing fairly quickly. That should help Boyd Gaming post solid growth in the first quarter and reduce leverage in the business.
