Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.38.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CHDN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 29,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 5,372 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 605,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,839,000 after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,927,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Churchill Downs by 7.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,824,000 after buying an additional 12,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 228,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,521,000 after buying an additional 10,359 shares during the period. 82.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Churchill Downs Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of Churchill Downs stock opened at $102.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Churchill Downs has a 1 year low of $101.62 and a 1 year high of $150.21. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.27.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a return on equity of 43.67% and a net margin of 15.61%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.21 million. Analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.04%.

Churchill Downs announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs Incorporated operates as a racing, online wagering, and gaming entertainment company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Live and Historical Racing, TwinSpires, and Gaming. The company operates pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues; TwinSpires, an online wagering platform for horse racing, sports, and iGaming; retail sports books; casino gaming; and Terre Haute Casino Resort.