D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Stake in Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 88,187 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,314 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Churchill Downs were worth $11,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,372 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Churchill Downs by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 605,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,839,000 after buying an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Churchill Downs in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,927,000. Landmark Investment Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Churchill Downs during the 4th quarter valued at $13,317,000. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Churchill Downs during the fourth quarter worth $516,000. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Churchill Downs

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

Churchill Downs Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ CHDN opened at $98.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.87 and a 200-day moving average of $121.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.02. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a 12 month low of $85.58 and a 12 month high of $150.21.

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

Churchill Downs announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHDN shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Churchill Downs from $162.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Churchill Downs from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $150.00 to $136.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $144.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.50.

Churchill Downs Company 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.