Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) Short Interest Up 23.0% in February

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ:CHDN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,660,000 shares, an increase of 23.0% from the February 13th total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 536,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Churchill Downs

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 1.6% during the 4th 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 period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Churchill Downs by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,592,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,687,000 after buying an additional 214,694 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Churchill Downs by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,078,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,971,000 after acquiring an additional 114,018 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Churchill Downs by 25.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Churchill Downs by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,499,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,223,000 after acquiring an additional 77,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.59% of the company’s stock.

Churchill Downs Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHDN traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.84. 102,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,808. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. Churchill Downs has a twelve month low of $105.18 and a twelve month high of $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.88.

Churchill Downs (NASDAQ:CHDN) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.61% and a return on equity of 43.67%. The firm had revenue of $624.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $620.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Churchill Downs will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Churchill Downs declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHDN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Churchill Downs from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Churchill Downs from $164.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Churchill Downs from $151.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Churchill Downs in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Churchill Downs from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.38.

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.