Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Update

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 441,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $157.00 to $151.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised Churchill Downs from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $166.00) on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.88.

Churchill Downs Trading Up 1.1 %

CHDN traded up $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.00. The company had a trading volume of 603,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 364,852. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.96. Churchill Downs has a 12-month low of $111.10 and a 12-month high of $150.21.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $628.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $627.90 million. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 45.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Churchill Downs will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.409 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.29%. This is a positive change from Churchill Downs’s previous annual dividend of $0.38. Churchill Downs’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.47%.

Institutional Trading of Churchill Downs

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Churchill Downs by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 763,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,241,000 after acquiring an additional 381,754 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Churchill Downs during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,368,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,078,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,971,000 after purchasing an additional 114,018 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Churchill Downs in the third quarter worth approximately $15,231,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Churchill Downs by 66.8% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 250,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,944,000 after buying an additional 100,230 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

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.