Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Shares Acquired by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 106.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,243 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,875 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after buying an additional 11,006 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Churchill Downs in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 132,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,703,000 after buying an additional 2,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after buying an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. 82.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CHDN shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $160.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $162.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Douglas C. Grissom acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.77 per share, with a total value of $927,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 38,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,605,877.13. This represents a 34.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director R Alex Rankin acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.65 per share, for a total transaction of $185,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 99,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,173,461.80. This represents a 2.06% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.34% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CHDN opened at $95.04 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $85.58 and a fifty-two week high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $642.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.68 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio is 7.12%.

Churchill Downs announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.