Aristides Capital LLC Has $311,000 Stock Holdings in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,330 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHDN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Churchill Downs in the fourth quarter worth about $74,967,000. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Churchill Downs by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,794,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,619,000 after purchasing an additional 366,283 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,369,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter valued at $16,015,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Churchill Downs by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,078,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,971,000 after purchasing an additional 114,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Trading Down 5.8 %

Churchill Downs stock opened at $102.66 on Monday. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a one year low of $101.62 and a one year high of $150.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.21 million. On average, analysts forecast that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Churchill Downs Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHDN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Profile

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.