Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Now Covered by Analysts at Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on CHDN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $142.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 price target on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.44.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

Shares of CHDN stock opened at $102.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. Churchill Downs has a one year low of $96.67 and a one year high of $150.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.51. 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 released its 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 firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $620.21 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.04%.

Churchill Downs announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 20,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in Churchill Downs by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 127.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,559,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

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.