Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $157.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Churchill Downs from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Churchill Downs from $161.00 to $142.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $166.00 target price on shares of Churchill Downs in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

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

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of Churchill Downs stock traded down $2.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 147,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,613. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86. 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 has a 12-month low of $96.67 and a 12-month high of $150.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $113.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.97.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.06). Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The company had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $620.21 million. Analysts expect that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Churchill Downs's payout ratio is 7.04%.

Churchill Downs announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.