Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Board Authorizes Share Buyback Program

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHDN opened at $107.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $105.18 and a fifty-two week high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.21 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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 reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Churchill Downs has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.38.

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.