Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $161.00 to $142.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Churchill Downs traded as low as $96.67 and last traded at $105.90, with a volume of 899670 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.00.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CHDN. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Churchill Downs

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHDN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Churchill Downs by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,808,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $909,183,000 after buying an additional 107,737 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Churchill Downs by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,592,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,687,000 after purchasing an additional 214,694 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 366,283 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,499,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,223,000 after purchasing an additional 77,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its position in Churchill Downs by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 1,344,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,557,000 after buying an additional 59,657 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average is $112.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.86.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $620.21 million. As a group, analysts predict that Churchill Downs Incorporated will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Churchill Downs Announces Dividend

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

Churchill Downs announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.