Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CHDN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Mizuho decreased 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.38.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of CHDN opened at $98.00 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. Churchill Downs has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $620.21 million. Research analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.24%. Churchill Downs’s payout ratio is 7.04%.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy 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.

Institutional Trading of Churchill Downs

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Churchill Downs in the 4th quarter valued at $74,967,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,794,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,619,000 after buying an additional 366,283 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,592,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,687,000 after buying an additional 214,694 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 97.9% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 431,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,578,000 after buying an additional 213,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Churchill Downs during the fourth quarter worth about $28,369,000. 82.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.