Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Update

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 daily volume of 441,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of Churchill Downs

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHDN. State Street Corp grew its stake in Churchill Downs by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,078,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,971,000 after buying an additional 114,018 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,299,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,742,000 after buying an additional 96,910 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 381,754 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Churchill Downs by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 595,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,477,000 after acquiring an additional 37,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 442,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,782,000 after acquiring an additional 57,892 shares during the period. 82.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Churchill Downs Stock Performance

Shares of CHDN stock traded up $1.43 on Friday, hitting $126.00. 603,038 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 364,852. The company’s fifty day moving average is $135.50 and its 200 day moving average is $137.56. Churchill Downs has a 1-year low of $111.10 and a 1-year high of $150.21. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. Churchill Downs had a net margin of 15.45% and a return on equity of 45.48%. The company had revenue of $628.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $627.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Churchill Downs will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs Increases Dividend

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

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.